Gekage
by cbigler
Summary: The Hokage sees the village as his family. For a lonely little boy, that promise is all he needs to start on the journey of a lifetime
1. Chapter 1

"Ano, Jiji…?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up from his ramen to see the usually unflappable four-year-old restlessly playing with his jacket. The boy had finished his bowl, so the issue wasn't of world-shattering importance. Nevertheless, anything that could cause the blond to address his Jiji this haltingly was worth the old man's full focus. Casually setting his chopsticks down so that he could give the child his undivided attention, the old man turned and addressed the downturned face. "Naruto, what is it?"

Blue eyes peeked from underneath unruly bangs as the child considered the aged face smiling gently down at him. A mumbled response sneaked its way from his lips as anxious hands returned to the worn hem of the boy's jacket and azure eyes rediscovered the floor of the small food stall.

"Naruto, if you want me to hear what you're trying to say, you need to speak up." Hiruzen was moderately worried now, but he reminded himself of the finished meal and resolved to patiently wait until the boy worked up his courage to broach this new and unsettling topic with his Jiji.

After much fiddling and further mumbling so his words ran together incomprehensibly, the blond seemed to make up his mind and raised his face to look at the older man. "Wh-why do they look at you like that?"

The head of the Sarutobi clan raised an eyebrow, trying to follow the child's train of thought. He hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary as he spent his afternoon with his all-but-adopted grandson. Whatever had brought about Naruto's questions hadn't even registered on his attention. "What do you mean, my boy? Who were we talking to when you saw this 'look'?"

"Everyone!" the blond blurted, with sudden intensity. Realizing his outburst as he noticed the old man quirk an eyebrow, Naruto quickly returned his attention to his shirt and started again, returning to the quiet voice he had used initially. "When we were at your office, everyone was happy when they talked to you. All the ninja, the lady at the desk, the men in the masks, and anyone else who came in, they were all happy to see you. They smiled, and their eyes were different. They never look at me like that, 'ttebayo. I want them to look at me that way, Jiji!"

Hiruzen's breath caught in his throat. What to tell this boy he loved like his own grandson? How could he avoid hurting Naruto? The truth of his status was beyond Naruto's ability to understand or deal with at this point in his life. However, that hadn't been the question, had it? "Well, my boy, do you know what I do? What is my job?"

Blue eyes peeked from under untamed blond bangs as Naruto carefully considered the old man in front of him. "You're my Jiji. You bring me food and toys and pay for my ramen. You talk with me, even though no one else will." The reply was a bit sullen, as though the boy resented having to remind the old man of this fact.

Sarutobi held back a frown at Naruto's response. That the boy thought no one wanted to talk to him was deeply concerning. Making a mental note to have Inu check in with the boy when he got back from his most recent mission, Hiruzen decided to address the first part of the response. "Being your Jiji isn't a job, Naruto. I would do that no matter what anyone else said. What else do I do?"

Naruto scrunched his nose as he considered the question. Eventually, he turned to the old man and offered another answer. "You read and write a lot and talk with the ninja. You tell them what to do, even the ones in the masks, 'ttebayo."

A warm smile grew on Hiruzen's face as he nodded, accepting the boy's answer. "I am the Sandaime Hokage, Naruto." Naruto's head snapped up and his mouth dropped, eyes shining at the man in front of him. Stifling a chuckle, the old man asked, "Do you know what the Hokage is, my boy?"

The boy was silent for a moment, but his eyes widened in excitement. He spent several seconds sputtering, desperately trying to wrap his head around the fact that _his Jiji is the Hokage_! Eventually, though, he snapped back to attention and burst out in excitement. "Sugoi! Jiji! That means you're a ninja. The best ninja in the whole village, dattebayo! Can you show me some cool ninja tricks?! Can you fly? Why haven't you told me before? Are you super strong? Can you breathe fire? Will you teach me to be a ninja? Please?! I'll be good and clean my apartment and stop throwing my vegetables in the trash-"

The stern glance Naruto received at the last comment told him that the Hokage hadn't been aware of that last fact and they would eventually need to discuss it, but the blond was too excited to really pay attention. _His JIJI is the HOKAGE_! Opening his mouth to renew the deluge of questions, Naruto stopped as he noticed the Hokage's calming hand gesture.

"Slow down, Naruto. I won't quit being Hokage, or a ninja for quite a while yet. You can ask me any questions you want, but for now at least, let me answer the ones that you've already asked." At Naruto's vigorous nod and beaming smile, Sarutobi started again. "Let's see, your first question was about showing you some 'cool ninja tricks', I believe. The quickest trick you might appreciate…". At this, Hiruzen reached out of the stall and grabbed a leaf drifting by on the breeze. "… is this one. I'm going to stick this leaf to my fingertip and cause it to spin, using nothing but my chakra."

With that, the old man began spinning the leaf on his index finger. Chuckling at how the small performance had enthralled his audience, the Sandaime began weaving the leaf around his hand in complicated patterns, changing the speed of the rotation as he went. This went on for several minutes until Naruto's attention snapped back to Sarutobi's wrinkled face. As the boy opened his mouth, Hiruzen preempted the question he knew was coming. "I can show you how to do this if you'd like Naruto. It's a kind of ninja training." The boy nodded with such vigor that Hiruzen momentarily feared he'd give himself whiplash. "Well then, shall we pay for our ramen and let Ichiraku-san clean a spot for more customers? We can go back to my office and you can work on this exercise while I spend some time on my own work."

Naruto continued to nod fervently and scrambled off his chair. He bounced on his toes as he waited for his Jiji to rise and pay their bill. A raised eyebrow and a cleared throat caught his attention and he pondered Jiji's expectant face. He thought for several moments until, with some small exasperation, the old man seemed to decide that Naruto wouldn't remember without a stronger reminder. "Manners, Naruto. What do you have to say to Ichiraku-san for the meal he just served us?"

Naruto's face lit up in understanding and he turned a glowing smile to the grinning restaurateur. "Thanks for the ramen, Teuchi-jiisan. It was really good, 'ttebayo." At the bow of his second-favorite adult, Naruto seemed to regain whatever energy had been shelved as he puzzled on the expectations of strange old men and burst from the small ramen stand, shouting and laughing at the top of his lungs.

The two old men shared a laugh at the boy's antics as Hiruzen paid for their meals and the several other meals he was sure Teuchi would give the boy before the Hokage could bring him again. With a jovial wave, the Sandaime left the food stall and went to go track down his charge so that he could fulfill the promise made over an empty bowl of noodles. It truly was a marvelous thing how quickly Naruto's mood could be turned around. All he needed was an excuse and his joyful heart would bring him out of whatever melancholy held the boy captive. It seemed that the worries which had been bothering him had been washed away with the promise of a neat trick and the attention of someone who cared about him. Smiling to himself, the Hokage allowed Naruto to take his hand and steer the pair down the street towards the Hokage tower.

* * *

"Okay, Jiji!"

As soon as Naruto had successfully dragged the Hokage through the doors of his office, the boy turned and leveled a commanding finger at the old man. "You promised. Now show me how to make the leaf dance, dattebayo."

Hiruzen chuckled to himself at the boy's behavior. While his advisors thought it improper for him to allow the blond to address him so rudely, he knew that teaching Naruto manners promised to be a tremendous task, due to the hostility of the civilian population, the aloofness of the clans, and the demanding nature of his own obligations as Hokage. Naruto needed someone to remind him regularly about manners and the rules of polite interaction. However, with so few adult role models, he was bound to fall far short of the standards to which he was being compared. Besides, Hiruzen reasoned to himself, there were very few joys so simple and refreshing in his role as Hokage as Naruto's honest and upfront manner of handling everything. "Very well, Naruto. Do you know what chakra is?"

"Cat-ra? Is that what all of the cats in the street barf up after they lick their fur?"

Hiruzen caught himself before he burst out laughing, but it was a close thing. It would not do to earn the boy's ire so early in the afternoon. Instead, he focused on correcting Naruto's pronunciation. "No, Naruto. What I'm talking about is chakra. Cha-kra."

"Chat-ra?"

"Chak-ra"

"Chakra?"

The old man smiled when he heard the correct pronunciation. "That's right. Now, I want you to say 'chakra' to yourself several times, while I explain what it is. You can stop me to ask if you have questions, though." Naruto nodded and began repeating the word under his breath as Hiruzen resumed his explanation. "Chakra is the energy that ninja use to perform their jutsu, or ninja tricks, as I think you called them. Everyone has some amount of chakra that they're naturally born with, but you can make more by training yourself, either in body or mind. Chakra is a mixture of the energy from your body and your mind, thus you need to train both so that they can stay in balance." Here he stopped, smiling at Naruto's waving hand and indicated that the boy should ask his question.

"Jiji, how much charkra, no chakra, do I have? I bet I have a lot. I'm super awesome, so I probably have a lot of chakra, 'ttebayo. What does chakra look like? Is it the same for everyone? How do I know which one I need to train?"

Once again, Naruto stopped his questions at the old man's raised hand. "You're excited to learn, I see. That's wonderful. Asking questions and learning new things is part of training your mind. I'm going to answer the rest of your questions from lunch before we forget what they were and then I'll answer your new questions about chakra. I need you to hold off on asking any new questions until I answer them all, okay?" At the boy's enthusiastic nod, he began again. "The first question about showing you a cool trick we took care of when I showed you the spinning leaf. The second question was if I can fly. There are many jutsu, remember that is a ninja trick, that I know, but that technique is not one I have any experience using. The Sandaime Tsuchikage can though, and he is a fearsome opponent, not only for his ability to fly. After that, you asked me why I'd never told you that I was the Hokage. While we have never directly discussed what I do, everyone aside from you addresses me as Hokage-sama in this room and quite frequently when we walk through the village. I know you've been here to hear them, and I thought you might have already noticed."

Naruto's pout drew a laugh from the veteran shinobi and he quickly resumed answering the blond's questions. "The title of Hokage is given to the most powerful ninja in the village, so I suppose that I might be called 'super strong'. However, there are many other ninja living here who are also quite powerful that you might meet if you continue to visit me here in the Hokage tower. You should know, though, that the Hokage is not just the most powerful ninja. Otherwise I'd never be here to be your Jiji. I'd always be out doing missions. The Hokage is the leader of the village and its protector. His job is to guide and care for all the people in the village like his family."

At that Naruto's face went quiet and his eyes glazed over, as he fell deep into thought. Hiruzen paused in his lecture to eye the boy for a moment. When the normally excitable blond remained quiet for several minutes, the old man resumed his paperwork and let Naruto think. Eventually, Naruto started and turned back to the Hokage, smiling sheepishly. Hiruzen returned the smile as he resumed his explanation. "The Hokage has to help all of the ninja get along and make sure that the village is helping everyone grow to their full potential. I choose which ninja to send on missions and I make decisions on behalf of the entire village. There have been three other Hokage."

"But Jiji," Naruto interrupted, his face scrunched in a pained expression. "You said you're the Sandaime Hokage, 'ttebayo. How can there have been three others when you're the third?"

Hiruzen nodded to acknowledge the boy's question. "An excellent question Naruto. I am the Sandaime Hokage, but I started being Hokage again after the Yondaime Hokage died. It is a long and sad story, so we can't talk about it right now, but after you complete the first step of the leaf dancing exercise, I'll tell you the story of my chosen successor: the hero who saved the village." Naruto nodded enthusiastically at that idea. Story time with Jiji was always really fun. "Then, your next question was about my ability to breathe fire." Hiruzen brought his hands up and stuck them together in several different shapes within the space of a second. Bringing his hand up to his mouth, he blew out a small lick of flame that traced down to the dumbfounded blond and slowly formed into the shape of the kanji for fire where it wavered for several seconds before disappearing. Naruto didn't respond for several seconds as his eyes bugged out of their sockets and he stared vacantly at the space the character had been, which the Hokage took as an opportunity to resume his explanation. "Your next question, I believe, was whether I can teach you to be a ninja." At this Naruto's eyes snapped to the wrinkled face, eagerness written all over the huge grin that suddenly appeared there. Hiruzen let out a merry chuckle as the boy's mouth started working with little to no sound coming out. "I would be honored to show you some of the first steps toward being a ninja, Naruto. You should also know that when you start school next year, everything you do there will be important for teaching you how to be a ninja. We can start after I finish answering your questions."

To say that the old man wasn't expecting the wordless shout of joy would have been an understatement. Without any warning, there was a golden-tipped projectile that had launched itself at him and attached itself to his waist. He smiled and quite lost himself in enjoying the hug and the nigh-endless stream of "Arigatou's" that were streaming from the boy's lips. Eventually, Naruto quieted enough for Sarutobi to rub his back and prompt, "Shall we finish answering your questions so that we can get started, Naruto?"

Immediately, the boy drew back, blue eyes still shining, and nodded vigorously. "I'm ready, Jiji. We can skip the other questions if you want. I want to learn to be a ninja right now."

Sarutobi smiled again and reached out for his pipe. "That would be difficult, Naruto, as you need to understand what chakra is to start." The boy stared blankly for a few seconds as the Hokage filled and lit his pipe. Taking a large breath, the old man breathed it out before returning his gaze to the boy who had started to fidget as he considered what he had been told. "Your first step in ninja training with me will be making the leaf dance. There are several parts of the process, but what you need to understand right now is that you will need to feel and be able to use your chakra to do this."

At Naruto's look of growing comprehension, the Sandaime replaced his pipe in his mouth and resumed the lecture. "I believe that addresses most of your questions from Ichiraku's. We still have the issue of you throwing your vegetables in the garbage to address," a stern look brought a sheepish nod to Naruto's face before Hiruzen continued. "But, I believe that can wait for the end of our afternoon together. Now, Naruto, I already said that chakra is the energy that ninja use for their jutsu. Do you remember that word?"

"Hai!" came the enthusiastic response. "Jutsu are the ninja tricks, right?"

"Very good," Hiruzen congratulated. At the blond's proud smile, he resumed his lecture. "Chakra is rarely visible, but occasionally, when especially powerful jutsu are used, you can see it. The Yondaime Hokage created a jutsu that made chakra into a ball that you could see and touch. Because I can't normally see chakra, I can't tell you what color it is. Some people can feel chakra, though, and they say that everyone's chakra feels different. As far as how much chakra you have, Naruto, it's quite a lot. You won't get tired from exercise as easily as many of your classmates when you start school next year. However, since you have lots of chakra, I imagine that you're going to have trouble sitting still in class to train your mind. Remember, though, you will need to train both your mind and body to be an effective ninja." Seeing Naruto's confused expression and slipping focus, the old man brought his charge's attention to the present by standing abruptly. "Well, that's quite enough lecture for today, I suppose. It's time to show you the technique you were promised, isn't it?"

"Yatta!" Naruto sprang from the mat where he'd been sitting and started dancing around in small circles. "Okay, Jiji! I'm ready, dattebayo! Now, show me how to make the leaf dance!"

"Alright, Naruto. There are several steps to being able to 'make the leaf dance'. The first is to be able to feel your own chakra. Have you ever felt anything in your belly, Naruto? A bit of extra energy that flows through you?"

Naruto's face screwed up as he thought long and hard. Eventually, he turned to his grandfather figure and shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about, Jiji. I've only ever felt me. Do other people feel other things?"

Hiruzen smirked to himself as he squatted and raised his hand to the young boy's belly. Gathering his chakra, the old man pushed a little through the touch, smiling at the awed expression that spread across Naruto's face. "This is my chakra, Naruto. What I'm doing right now is sharing a bit of it with you, to teach you how it feels."

"Jiji…" Naruto's voice was soft and warm as tears started to well up in his eyes. "It's like that time I fell asleep in front of the fire with you after we played at the park all day. It's nice and warm and comfy, just like you."

Hiruzen nodded, remembering the day well. It had been nearly a month previously when he had been able to work his schedule around for an entire day with Naruto. They had eaten at Ichiraku Ramen twice and played at the park for the entire afternoon. The boy had been exhausted and had insisted they build a fire in the small stove sitting in the corner of the office. Shortly after they fire had been started, Naruto had fallen asleep on Sarutobi's lap. Hiruzen had needed to summon the ANBU to return the boy to his apartment. It was a positive and formative memory of their relationship, if there ever was one. With any luck, they would have many more such memories over the coming years. And, Hiruzen mused, perhaps he could add his soon to be born grandson to the mix. Every bond that Naruto could create with the people of the village would be important to support the boy. "Now you know what my chakra feels like, Naruto. The first step is to try to find something inside of you that's like this but feels more like you. Close your eyes and feel around your body to try to find something like that. It might take a while, so don't get frustrated if you don't feel anything right away. Let me know if you have any questions."

At this, the boy nodded and nestled himself into the cushions on the side of the room. Hiruzen smiled to himself and settled into his seat, picking up a mission request application and perusing it. This had been an enjoyable afternoon and promised to continue as such. Naruto would likely be busy trying to identify the feel his own chakra for the rest of the month, at least. Inu was due to return from his mission soon and Kakashi had the most right of anyone in the village for Naruto to recognize his chakra. Yes, it was his job as Hokage to care for his people, and this was a wonderful opportunity to see to the emotional health of two needy boys under his care.

* * *

"I got it, Jiji!"

Naruto ended up identifying the feel of his own chakra within two weeks, with many exposures of the Sandaime's chakra to serve as reference. To be fair, Hiruzen supposed, the boy likely asked to be shown again just as much for the comforting feeling from his first exposure as for help identifying the feel of his own chakra. After having made that step, Hiruzen was glad to take the blond out for lunch at Ichiraku's to celebrate. After bragging to the supportive vendor and his young daughter, finishing his meal, and bragging a bit more, the boy turned to the smiling Hokage and asked a surprising question. "Jiji, you told me that if I could feel my own chakra, you'd tell me more about the Yondaime, dattebayo. You said it was a sad story. Can you tell me now? Before we start the next part?"

Hiruzen cleared his throat at the boy's question, purposefully ignoring the mournful expression on the faces of the other occupants of the small stall. He remembered that promise but was honestly surprised that Naruto had paid attention to it with all the other excitement from the day. "That will be a long story, Naruto. Let's thank Ichiraku-san and head back to the Hokage's Tower. I will take the afternoon off to tell you everything I can."

Naruto hopped off his chair, turned to the proprietor and gave an exaggerated bow. "Thanks for the food, Teuchi-jiisan." The old man smiled and bowed back, wishing his youngest patron a good afternoon. Naruto then grabbed onto Hiruzen's hand and they walked together back to the office.

Hiruzen was surprised at the sedate pace the boy was setting and turned to him once they had gotten settled into their chairs. "Naruto, are you feeling alright? You were much quieter than normal on the way back from the ramen stand."

Naruto looked up at his grandfather with a gentle smile on his face. "I'm fine, Jiji, but you were sad. When I'm sad you hold my hand, so that's what I was doing for you. I wanted to help you be less sad."

Hiruzen smiled softly, touched by the child's empathy. "I _am_ sad Naruto. The Yondaime Hokage was a great man with a promising future. He died to save the village from a giant, nine-tailed, demon fox: the Kyūbi-no-Yōko. On October 10, four years ago, the Kyūbi attacked the village. It was a terrible night where many brave ninja lost their lives fighting the beast. In the end, the Yondaime appeared on the battlefield atop a giant toad. They fought for what seemed like hours, but in the end, the Kyūbi was defeated and the Yondaime died. Do you remember the festival we celebrated about a month ago?"

"You mean the one on my birthday that I had to stay inside for?" Naruto asked petulantly. He remembered and was still upset that his Jiji hadn't let him attend the festivities. What kind of birthday was it when he had to stay inside and didn't get to go join in the party going on _RIGHT OUTSIDE THE WINDOW_!

"Yes, that's the one," Hiruzen responded quickly. He wasn't about to get into this argument again. It had been painful enough arguing with the boy about staying inside on the day of the festivities. Finishing this story might lead to an entirely different kind of pain, but Sarutobi had promised a story and he would not be more of a liar to Naruto than the boy's safety required he be. "That festival was to celebrate the Yondaime's defeat of the Kyūbi and mourn his passing."

Naruto's eyes shone with growing comprehension. He was quiet for several seconds, head bowed. Eventually, though, he raised his head with solemn eyes and met the weary gaze of the Hokage. "Is that why they don't like me, Jiji? The festival was on my birthday, 'ttebayo. Was I borned when the Kyūbi attacked?"

Hiruzen smiled briefly at the boy's grammatical mistake. "Yes, Naruto. You were _born_ on the night of the Kyūbi attack. Through no fault of your own, you came into the world in the middle of the chaos and violence of that night. There are many within the village who see you and are reminded of their pain."

Naruto's eyes went dim for a moment before he closed them. Eventually, he opened his eyes with a stuttering breath, but didn't raise them to meet the Hokage's gaze. "Why did the Kyūbi come to the village, Jiji? Maybe he came because of me and all those people d-dieded because I was borned. All those people are sad because without me they'd have their friends and the Yondaime, and-, and…"

Hiruzen swooped in and pulled the boy into a deep hug on his lap as the normally chipper child tried to restrain the tears threatening to overwhelm him. They stayed in that posture for several minutes with old fingers massaging the tiny frame as Naruto's body was wracked with sobs. Sarutobi murmured comfort to Naruto as weathered hands rubbed a small circle across the boy's back. Eventually, the blond quieted and sat in the quiet warm comfort of the old man's lap. When he deemed that the boy had calmed enough, Hiruzen pulled Naruto back and lifted the boy's chin to meet his eyes. "Naruto, I want you to listen to me right now. The Kyūbi's attack was NOT your fault. It is a force of nature, something beyond the power of normal people to comprehend. The ninja who died four years ago did so because they loved this village. They wanted to protect their home and the people in it. I want you to promise me that you will never again entertain the thought that you caused that disaster. It is one of the supreme regrets of my life that the villagers cannot see past their pain to tell what a wonderful, caring boy that you are."

Naruto nodded meekly as he held back a new round of tears. He didn't really understand all the big words Jiji was using, but he understood what the old man was trying to tell him. Wiping the snot running down his face with the back of his hand, the blond looked at the Hokage and his face assumed some of its usual joy. "I promise, Jiji. I won't say that it's my fault, dattebayo. But, how did the Yondaime beat the Kyūbi? You said it was really strong."

"He used a forbidden technique, Naruto: a kinjutsu. Frequently, they have a very high cost. In the case of the jutsu used by the Yondaime, the kinjutsu cost his life." Sarutobi looked down at Naruto's face, hearing the sudden gasp.

"Why would the Yondaime do that, Jiji? He could have done something else to beat the Kyūbi, couldn't he? Why did he have to make himself die to stop the Kyūbi?"

"There was nothing else to do, Naruto. The Yondaime decided to sacrifice his life to ensure the safety of everyone in the village, you included." At Naruto's surprised look, the old man chuckled. "Oh yes, Naruto. The Yondaime believed that all the people of the village were worth his sacrifice and performed the kinjutsu to save them. When I found him, he had a smile on his face, just knowing that they were safe. That's part of what it means to be Hokage, you know." Again, Naruto looked sharply at the wizened figure on whose lap he sat. "The Hokage is a pillar that supports the village of Konoha. He sees the entire village as his family. That is a wonderful thing because it means that he wants to see each, and every person grow to be the most they can be. It also means that he wants to protect them. The Yondaime ended up deciding that he loved the village enough that he was willing to die to defend it. That's only natural for a father to do for his children."

At that comment, Naruto's eyes grew wide. "Doe- does that mean that I could call the Yondaime my daddy, Jiji? I know I don't have a real daddy, 'ttebayo, but can I call the Yondaime my daddy?" The eagerness, wistfulness, and pain in the boy's voice tore at the Hokage's heartstrings. It really was a cruel fate that this child bore. Entrusted with a heavy burden from birth and not even able to know who his family truly was.

The old man smiled at the boy on his lap. "I think that's a wonderful idea, Naruto. However, let's only call him your father when we're alone together. There are many others who wouldn't be happy with you calling yourself his son and we don't want them to get angry at you, do we?"

The boy shook his head vigorously. Then, he turned his head and looked at the old man questioningly, "What do you mean, Jiji? Who would be mad if I called the Yondaime my daddy?"

Hiruzen's heart clenched at that question. There were so many ways this could go wrong. So many ways Naruto could get hurt. In the end, though, he found that he couldn't deny his favorite blond this small bit of comfort. "Well, Naruto, there are people outside of the village who don't like the Yondaime. Many years ago, there was a war and he fought very hard to defend our home. Unfortunately, that means he hurt many people and they might want to hurt you to try and make themselves feel better. Also, until the civilians realize how kind you are, they might be angry that you would try to associate yourself with their hero."

Naruto nodded, slowly. "Okay, Jiji. I'll keep it secret, 'ttebayo. Why did the Yond- my daddy hurt those people? Were they bad people?"

Hiruzen smiled to himself at the flush that crept across the boy's face when he called the Yondaime his father. "They weren't inherently bad, Naruto, but they were fighting against him in the war to protect their own families and friends and he was fighting to protect _his_ friends and family."

The boy snorted and responded to Hiruzen's questioning look. "That's stupid, dattebayo! They should have left each other alone and not hurt-ed each other and then everyone could have been happy."

Hiruzen paused, reminded of his one remaining student, before he answered the boy slowly. "That's true, Naruto, but it's very hard to do. Both sides had been hurt badly by the other and they weren't willing to forgive the past mistakes. It's not a satisfying reason, but it's the only reason I have. I was Hokage at the time and I needed to make a decision that would prevent as many people from Konoha from getting hurt as possible."

Naruto's face screwed up in thought, but the effect was ruined when he yawned mightily. It had been a busy day. He had stayed up late last night trying to feel his chakra and had several monumental revelations today. Hiruzen laughed and brought the boy onto his lap to sleep. "Go to sleep now, Naruto. It's been a busy day. I'm very proud of you, both for your accomplishments and the way you handled our talk today.

"Jiji," the boy said sleepily, one hand playing with his eyelashes. "I'm proud of you too. You and my daddy. I think… I'm going to be the Hokage. Then I can keep people safe and have a huge family that loves me, 'ttebayo."

The last thing Naruto heard as he drifted off to sleep was the Hokage's warm voice. "I like that idea very much, Naruto. I'm sure you'll make it and I look forward to watching as much of the process as I can."

With that thought rolling comfortingly around his head, Naruto fell asleep. He dreamed of a huge and loving family and a father who wore a large red hat on his golden head. Whether it was himself or the Yondaime, he wasn't sure, but in the end, it didn't really matter, because everyone around him was happy and safe.


	2. Chapter 2

"Watch out, 'ttebayo! I'm going to see Jiji!"

Naruto's shouts echoed through the halls of the Hokage's tower. A bright red scarf whipped behind him as the boy barreled through layers of security with a comfort born of familiarity. Most of those the boy ran by made only a token effort to slow him down, knowing full well that it was an exercise in futility to attempt to restrain him when he was in this kind of mood. Besides, it wasn't like anyone would or could pretend to be _that_ child. One or two of the administrative Genin shouted for the boy to slow down as he nearly caused them to trip while carrying large stacks of paper, but they were completely ignored. Naruto would not be deterred. He hadn't seen Jiji in _FOREVER_. There had been an emergency, and the old man had needed to leave ramen early. He'd been busy and unable to see the blond ever since.

The boy had tried to make the most of the time, working on the next step of the leaf dancing trick. Apparently, now that he could feel his chakra, he needed to try to move it around throughout his body. Once he could do that, he needed to make it feel sticky and he'd be able to make a leaf stick, no matter how he moved around. If he concentrated, he could get the feel of his own chakra to move down his arms, so he'd slowly been pulling it all the way to his fingertips. That had taken nearly two whole days, and then he'd needed to start again with his legs. Right now, he could move his chakra throughout his whole body. The weirdest feeling was when he sent his chakra to the tips of his hair. It tickled a bit, like the wind was blowing through his spiky locks on a warm summer day. He still couldn't change his chakra to make it feel sticky, but with some more help from Jiji, he was confident that he'd get there.

This morning, however, there was a ninja in a mask waiting in his kitchen. The masked ninja worked for Jiji, so it wasn't too weird to see them there. Naruto had let them put stuff in the top cabinet in his kitchen since it was so hard for him to reach. He had never actually seen them eat or drink anything, but sometimes there was a cup drying on the dish rack when he got up, so they must eat sometimes. Seeing the masked ninja always meant Jiji could spend time with Naruto, so they were a welcome sight for the young boy.

"Jiji's got a day off, huh? Sugoi! I bet he'll go play in the snow with me, 'ttebayo!" Naruto had gleefully declared when he saw the masked figure. He retreated into his room and emerged seconds later in his snow gear. The boy had then barreled out the front door while shouting over his shoulder to, "Lock the door when you leave, please, Ninja-san."

The ninja, in question, shook her head beneath her full-length robe. The boy had gotten used to the ANBU agents who came to collect him only speaking a word or two to let him know that the Hokage had time to spend with his favorite blond. Thus, when there was something more they needed to convey, he wasn't expecting it and left before they could speak. She could have caught him, she supposed, but it might do for him to get some of his energy out by running to the tower. Besides, all she really needed to convey was that he couldn't barge into the Hokage's chambers as loudly as he normally did. Resigning herself to catching him in the tower, the agent washed her teacup, put it on the drying rack, and locked the front door before disappearing.

Naruto had made record time barreling through the village, leaving several civilians gasping in shock as the "demon brat" almost ran them over in his haste to make it to the red tower at the base of the Hokage Monument. Most knew enough about the boy's invisible protectors to avoid overt displays of their dislike for him, but a few still steered him towards icy patches of the road and snickered to themselves when he almost slipped. Eventually, though, the bright red scarf barreled through the doors of the Hokage's tower and the streets were once again "safe" from the Kyūbi no gaki.

Naruto had succeeded in traversing the entire first floor of the tower when he felt a hand grab onto the back of his jacket and lift him, squirming, into the air. He found himself facing the same mask from this morning and scowled at the painted face. "I got your message! I'm going' to see Jiji right now. Let me go, dattebayo!"

The masked figure held the squirming boy silently for several seconds until he made eye contact through the narrow slits of the mask. "You didn't bother to talk to me at all, Uzumaki-san. You saw me and assumed that the Hokage wanted to see you." At this statement, Naruto went entirely slack, gazing in horror at the figure in front of him. "There's no need for that kind of face. Hokage-sama does indeed want to see you, but he asked that I relay a message first." Naruto's face took on such an expression of relief that the woman had to wonder if the blond had seriously thought he was being discarded by the old man. "Now, I was asked to tell you that, when you go into Hokage-sama's office, you need to be quiet. There's someone in there that the Hokage wants you to meet, but they are currently asleep."

"But, how can I meet 'em if they're asleep?" The boy's face contorted as he pondered this quandary. "People got's to be awake before you can say hello."

The agent smiled thinly behind her mask, "Well, you'll find out when you go into the office. Quietly!" At the boy's subdued nod, she placed him on the ground and they began walking towards the Hokage's office. Several times she had to grab Naruto's jacket to remind him to go slowly, but eventually they made their way to the office door. Turning to the boy, she kneeled so that she was at his eye level. "Now, Uzumaki-san, remember to be quiet. You don't want to wake up Hokage-sama's guest before he's ready. And in the future," at this point she had to grab the boy's arm to bring his attention back to her. "I would appreciate it if you talked with the ANBU agents who come to pick you up. You may call me Mouse." At this she gestured to her mask, which was subtly marked to resemble the animal.

"Ne, Mouse-san, what's ANBU?" the boy asked as she stood up to leave.

"ANBU are some of the best ninja in the village. They work for the Hokage and keep him safe," came the reply. With that the cloaked figure vanished and Naruto was free to enter the office. He was curious about Mouse's comment but reminded himself that Jiji was waiting for him. Remembering one of Mouse's repeated warnings to slow down and be quiet, he approached the door on tiptoes and slowly pushed it open. Inside the room was lit as always, with the early morning winter sun leaving strange shadows on Jiji's face. He was at his desk, holding a strange bundle in his arms. There didn't seem to be anyone else in the room, however, so Naruto started into the room on tiptoes.

"Come in, Naruto." The Hokage's voice was just softer than usual, alerting the boy to the fact that whoever the mystery guest was, he must be in the room and asleep, as Mouse-san had suggested. Slowly he crept in, with exaggerated movements that made the old man grin as he considered how quiet the boy obviously thought he was being.

Eventually Naruto drew near enough to his Jiji that he could give the old man a quick hug before he looked around the room in confusion. "Where's the person I need to meet, Jiji?"

The boy's whisper was hardly quiet, or subtle, but he was trying, so the old man didn't feel the need to correct his young charge. Nodding his head toward the bundle in his arms, the Hokage turned so that Naruto could see the small face in the blanket. "Naruto, I want you to meet my grandson, Konohamaru. He was born several days ago, after I had to leave ramen with you."

Naruto leaned in and looked long and hard at the face in the blanket. It kind of looked like a person, if he looked hard, but it was more like a peach: round and fuzzy. "Are you sure, Jiji? It looks more like a peach to me, 'ttebayo."

The boy's question drew a brief snort from the old man before he was able to reign it in. "I'm quite sure, my boy. Konohamaru-chan is a baby and was born ten days ago. This is what all people look like when they are born. Given time he will grow and be as big as me. Right now, though, he is small and can't move on his own. Would you like to take a closer look?" The old man scooted over in his chair to make space for the small blond boy.

Naruto nodded as he shed his jacket and scarf, leaving them in a wet heap on the floor before pulling himself into the space created for him. As the whiskered face leaned in close to inspect the bundle in the Hokage's arms, Konohamaru's face screwed up and black eyes opened slowly. Both boys froze as they made eye contact, eyes tracing over each other warily. Konohamaru was the first to move as small hands reached from the depths of the blanket around him and haltingly reached out to touch the blond's whiskered cheeks. Naruto bit back a giggle at the touch. That tickled! Eventually he couldn't contain himself any longer and broke out in laughter.

"Jiji, that tickles," the boy giggled breathlessly. Small hands continued to move over whiskered cheeks and the laughter in the room magnified as the Hokage's chuckle joined Naruto's tickled gasping and Konohamaru's delighted shrieks. Eventually, though, the baby was no longer able to hold his hands up to Naruto's cheeks and the three eventually quieted so that they were only gasping to regain their breath after several minutes of laughter.

"It seems that you and Konohamaru-chan get along quite well, Naruto." Hiruzen smiled broadly at the grin his statement brought to Naruto's face. "Would you like to play with him for a bit?"

Naruto nodded vigorously but stilled when a thought occurred to him. "What do we play, Jiji? He's too little to play tag with, 'ttebayo."

"I was thinking that you could take him for a tour of the tower, Naruto. How does that sound to you?" At Naruto's nod, Sarutobi gestured for him to step down to the floor. When the boy had disembarked from the Hokage's chair, the old man reached down and slowly placed Konohamaru in Naruto's hands. It took several minutes for Naruto to understand how he was supposed to carry the baby, but eventually he was supporting Konohamaru's head correctly and had waddled out through the door. The Hokage grinned to himself and followed the pair, content to let Naruto take the lead with the tour.

Naruto's tour of the Hokage tower ended up lasting several hours, far longer than Sarutobi had expected. They had to stop at every desk so that Naruto could show the Genin working there "Jiji's grandson, Konohamaru". They had stopped at every room and Naruto had told a story about some interaction with the old man. Honestly, his memory for everything the pair had done together was somewhat staggering. Sarutobi had offered to carry the baby several times, but Naruto had been adamant in his decision to carry Konohamaru for the entirety of the tour. As they finally came back to the Hokage's office, Naruto noticed Konohamaru's flagging energy and sleepy eyes and finally surrendered the baby back to the old man.

They sat in the office while the Hokage asked his secretary to procure lunch for the pair and rocked Konohamaru to sleep. Several minutes after they had sat down and started their lunch, a woman with dark, bristly hair and black eyes came in. She smiled as she saw Konohamaru sleeping on the Hokage's lap and the little blond boy who kept glancing down at the child with blue eyes wide in wonder. "Thanks for taking him for this morning, Dad," she said softly.

Naruto, clearly having failed to notice her presence, startled and dropped his rice ball, but the Hokage grabbed it from the air before it fell to the ground. "Who're you?" Naruto's eyes were wide and curious as he regarded the pretty lady in front of him.

"I'm Sarutobi Hideko," she responded with a smile. "I'm Konohamaru-chan's mother and the Hokage's daughter. Hokage-sama," here she gestured at the grinning old man, "told me that he had someone he wanted Konohamaru-chan to meet today. Is that you?"

"Sure is, dattebayo!" Naruto puffed his chest out as big as he could as he jabbed his thumb into his chest, grinning so widely that his eyes squeezed shut. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm gonna be Hokage one day. That means everyone in the village's gonna be my family, 'ttebayo. We took Konohamaru for a tour of the tower today! I made sure everybody met him and said hello, 'cause he's Jiji's grandson and people got's to be nice to him."

"Well, thank you Naruto-kun. I appreciate that you would be willing to spend so much time with your little brother." At this, Naruto's face froze in shock. Hideko, guessing where his thoughts were going, came over and gently bopped the boy on the nose. "You can have a family, but each person gets to be a special part of that family. My father gets to be your Jiji, so it's only fair that Konohamaru-chan gets a big brother who is willing to take care of him and help him grow big and strong. I need to take him now, because it's about time for Konohamaru-chan to have his own lunch, but I'll be sure to let him come back and play with you in the future, okay?"

At the boy's slow nod, she turned to the Hokage and smiled gently at him. "Thanks again, Dad. It was nice to have a morning to sleep in for a bit. I don't know why I didn't realize it would be this tiring to have a newborn."

"It was my pleasure, little monkey," the old man murmured to her as he handed over the bundle. "It is I who should be thanking you. I had one of the most enjoyable days in a long time today. Naruto was very glad for the opportunity to play with Konohamaru-chan and I barely had to do anything except enjoy the time with the two of them. We'll have to organize more of these play-dates whenever you need a break. Naruto will start attending the civilian academy in April, but those will only be half-day sessions for the first year."

Hideko nodded and left with Konohamaru, pausing to lay a quick kiss on the still frozen Naruto's cheek. "Thank you again, Naruto-kun. Enjoy the rest of your day with your Jiji."

After the door closed, Hiruzen resumed eating his lunch, patiently waiting for Naruto to process what had just happened. Eventually, he was starting to get worried, as five minutes without moving must have been a record for the wild-haired blond. Just as the old man was laying down his chopsticks to reach over and prod the boy, Naruto turned and looked at his grandfather-figure. Blue eyes shone with excitement as he turned to the old man, shaking with barely contained joy. "Jiji, I get to be a brother! I- "

Naruto stopped quickly, eyes turning downward and thoughts progressing inward. "What do I need to do to be a brother, Jiji? I don't know how to be a big brother. And I like Konohamaru a lot. I want to be a good brother for him, 'ttebayo." Pleading eyes turned to the old man, who clearly knew _everything_.

Hiruzen smiled at the boy's face as he reached down to reclaim his chopsticks. "Well, Naruto, why don't you finish your lunch and we can talk as we eat?" Hesitantly, Naruto retook his seat and grabbed his half-finished onigiri, but his eyes remained fixed on the old man, silently asking for answers. Hiruzen chewed the small bite of fish he had taken as he pondered Naruto's question. "Honestly, Naruto, I think that the best way to answer the question of how to be a good brother is to ask what you'd like your own brother to be like, if you could have one. What traits would you want in an older brother?"

Naruto chewed thoughtfully as he considered the old man's question. "Well, I think that I want a brother who'd teach me cool stuff. He'd be big an' strong, an' show me lots of awesome jutsu, 'ttebayo. He'd spend time with me and play with me and take me for ramen. He'd be happy when I did good and help me understand hard stuff. An' maybe…" Here Naruto's voiced trailed off for a bit before he blushed and started again with renewed gusto. "I'd want him to hug me when I go to sleep. If I was scareded, he'd make it all better. He'd tell people to stop when they was being' mean to me. Most of all, though, he'd like me a lot cause I'm his little brother." The boy finished with a definitive nod of his head and looked up at the old man, silently asking what the boy's most important supporter thought of the list.

The Hokage, for his part, smiled broadly at the boy who had such a big heart. "I think those are wonderful things, Naruto. I imagine that Konohamaru would be glad to have a big brother like that, as well." The man's smile disappeared quite rapidly, however, at Naruto's distressed face.

"But Jiji, I can't do that, dattebayo! I don't know any jutsu. I'm not big or strong and I don't have any money to take Konohamaru for ramen. Can I still be his brother if I can't do those things?"

The boy's expression was so heartbroken that Hiruzen Sarutobi felt the need to grab the boy's chin and gently tilt the whiskered face until he had made eye contact with the boy's glittering blues. "Naruto, I know that you haven't had a big brother before, but you need to realize that if you did have a big brother, he wouldn't be perfect. He might not be able to do all those things you just listed. He might be a civilian and not know any jutsu. He might be allergic to ramen and not able to take you to Ichiraku-san's wonderful stall. I imagine that the only thing he would need to do," at this the old man slowed down to make sure that the boy was paying attention, "is to try his hardest, right? If you had a brother, he would make mistakes and might hurt you on accident. He would always love you, though. Would that be enough for you to have in a brother?"

Naruto paused for a second, considering what the old man was asking him. Turning back, he nodded resolutely. "If he liked me all the time and tried to help me whenever he could, he'd be the best brother ever, dattebayo!"

The Sandaime nodded. "If you do the same for Konohamaru-chan, then he'll be incredibly lucky to have such a caring older brother. Now, do you think we should finish lunch? I believe that Mouse-san told me you've been making great progress moving your chakra throughout your body. Can you show me what she was talking about after we've got all of this food cleaned up?"

Naruto brightened at the prospect of showing off his progress and excitedly began stuffing the rest of his lunch into already bulging cheeks. Hiruzen chuckled as he finished his lunch much more sedately.

* * *

"Inu, I am disappointed in you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi glared over his desk at the masked boy kneeling at attention there. The covered face flinched, but remained stubbornly resolute, eyes firmly fixed on the line where the desk met the floor. Inu had just returned from an extended mission in the Land of Hot Water. As always, the boy's performance was impeccable, and the client had nothing but praise for the protection Inu had provided during the wealthy noble's months of vacation in the country's resorts and natural hot springs. There had been a tense confrontation with a Jōnin from Kumo, but that was to be expected so close to the Land of Lightning. That wasn't the problem. _The problem_ , thought the old man grimly, _was that Kakashi believed himself to be cursed_. The boy had already lost much in his short life, it was true. That loss had traumatized him and planted a fear deep behind the many masks he wore for the world. Kakashi feared further loss and had emotionally distanced himself from his peers and companions.

The Sandaime Hokage knew that such isolation wasn't good for the boy, but he tried not to overtly interfere in the lives of his subordinates. Thus, his solution to give Inu a shift on Naruto's protection detail. It was completely reasonable, as the ANBU agent had been on non-stop assignments out of the village since Naruto's birth. No one, not even such a gifted child as Kakashi could continue without some measure of rest and social support. The bodyguard detail was relatively low-stress, as far as ANBU missions went, but it was still important mission work for the sake of the village. The old man felt confident that, after watching Naruto for a week, Kakashi would be willing to introduce himself to the blond ray of sunshine of his own initiative. _But the impudent whelp had the gall to refuse the assignment_! It was quite clear that Sakumo's boy was frightened of the prospect of even coming into that limited contact with the last thing he valued quite so dearly in the world.

"Hokage-sama, I believe that I am unsuited to the bodyguard detail of such an important asset to the village." Inu began what sounded like a practiced rebuttal, his voice a forced monotone. Of course, the brat had thought of this after Hiruzen's previous suggestions to interact with the other shinobi his age had been brushed off. It was the reasonable next step to force social interaction on the ever-so-resistant boy before he broke down and did something disastrous. For all the practice, though, this response was nothing more than falsehood, as the mission report on the desk between the two clearly stated. Inu may have been a genius of the highest order, but Hiruzen Sarutobi had the weight of decades more experience and stubbornness to draw upon and he would not allow the boy to win this debate.

"Do not lie to me, Inu." The order was cold and quiet, and it had the desired effect of shocking the young shinobi into silence. "Do not lie to me and tell me you are unsuited to this task. I am your Hokage, and I expect better of you." The Sandaime tented wrinkled fingers and glared over them at the masked face, watching the boy squirm under his gaze. "I have here your own report detailing the steps you took to protect a respected member of the daimyo's court and how, while performing your duties, you interacted with his children for extended periods of time." Inu broke eye contact at that, but the old man would not allow him to escape this discussion so easily. "You will look me in the eyes when I am speaking to you, _boy_." At the stern address, Kakashi flinched again. Eventually, both the red and the gray eye resumed some measure of steel and Kakashi looked up to meet the hardened gaze of the man who had guided Konoha through three Great Shinobi Wars.

"We will speak plainly," the Hokage said simply, terribly, and with a finality that crushed any hope the silver-haired boy possessed that this conversation could be avoided. "You do not wish to accept this duty because of who you would be protecting. You are afraid of the possibility that you might grow to love and care for Uzumaki Naruto." The old man held up his hand to silence the reply that Kakashi was starting to offer before the wrinkled fingers returned to their previous position and the old man again surveyed the teenager who had been forced to bear many scars, both physical and emotional, for the sake of the village.

The old man surveyed the struggling boy for a moment before his face softened, ever so slightly. "You are afraid that you don't deserve this prison of isolation you've placed yourself into. Afraid that _his_ son could break you free of your self-imposed suffering. You are also afraid of the pain of coming to care for him and then losing him, as you've lost the rest of your family. Tell me truly, Kakashi, have I made any errors with my assessment of the situation?"

The gravity-defying silver tufts of hair seemed to collapse down on themselves as the boy considered his leader's words and found them to be truer than he was comfortable acknowledging. However, he felt the need to offer some token defense to the old man's pointed accusations. "Hokage-sama, please, don't make me do this." Kakashi knew he was begging now, but he could see no other recourse. "I can't do it. Please. I'll end up hurting him, just like I always do. Then there won't be anyone left…" The words trailed off at the end of the plea. Kakashi took a deep, shaky breath and returned to the proper, at-attention posture.

The Hokage regarded the young man for a long moment before reaching over to the box of pipe weed sitting on his desk. Slowly, he packed and lit his pipe. Turning to the side he blew a large smoke ring before he turned himself back to the boy still kneeling at attention. "Take a seat, Hatake-san." The command was given slowly, and with none of the air of authority that had been present for the last several minutes of their conversation. Cautiously, the cloaked figure rose before claiming one of the more worn chairs around the office and sitting across from the old man.

"I have a new grandson, Kakashi, had you heard? Sarutobi Konohamaru was born on December 30."

The question was completely unexpected to the prodigious ANBU agent. As such, he floundered for a moment before finding his bearings and giving the appropriate response. "Congratulations, Hokage-sama. I'm sure that he will be a credit to the Sarutobi name." Hesitating, not sure what to make of the change of topic, the silver-haired young man looked to his leader, trying to understand what was happening. "Hokage-sama, what-?"

"He's a curious child, and excited to meet new people. I'll have to introduce you at some point. I'm sure he would appreciate an opportunity to play with your hair." The Hokage smirked, privately relishing the shiver that ran down the boy's back at that comment. "More to the point, several days ago I introduced him to Naruto. When Hideko-chan came to pick up Konohamaru-chan she told Naruto that he is now an older brother. I'd like to show you his response."

The Sandaime reached into his desk and extracted a small crystal sphere. Concentrating, he projected his conversation with Naruto through the orb so that Kakashi could see and hear Naruto share his wish list for an older brother. The old man smiled to himself as he noticed Kakashi lean in hungrily to look at the soft smile on Naruto's face as he described the love and protectiveness of the blond's ideal older brother. When the conversation had finished, Sarutobi put the crystal away and leaned back in his chair, carefully observing as much of Kakashi's face as was visible.

When he felt that the silver-haired genius had stewed enough, the old man spoke softly, drawing the boy's gaze and pulling his thoughts from the past to the present. "He wants to be Hokage, you know." Kakashi flinched again, fully aware of the cost of the title. "He wants to be Hokage so that he can have a family. One that loves and supports him and makes him feel valued. I do what I can to for him, but I have many calls for my time. He needs more than I can give him, Kakashi. I want you to have the opportunity to be part of his family. I want you to be one of the people he runs to when he is troubled. I want you will help him develop the skills he will need to keep himself safe. I want you to be his older brother, just as you should have been, had everything not gone wrong."

A pair of eyes, one black and one blood-red, looked at the old man for long seconds before its owner spoke. "Hokage-sama, I know that he needs support. I want to be there for him. It's just…" A short, ragged breath seemed to stabilize the boy. "What if I'm not enough? What if I can't help him like he needs, like he deserves? What if I lose him, too?" The last line was a whisper, likely not meant for Sarutobi's ears, but the old man was perceptive and knew when to listen closely.

"Kakashi, you won't be able to protect him from everything. In fact, there are many things you shouldn't protect him from. Naruto will need to grow strong to overcome the challenges that I'm sure wait for him in the future. The title of Hokage is not given to one who has faced no adversity, after all." Kakashi's head snapped up, but his challenge was cut short by the amusement dancing across the end of the old man's pipe.

"All I ask is that you take one afternoon with him. You needn't tell him more than you want. You needn't come to him as anything other than a standard ANBU. Leave the mask on and wear the cloak. Just take one afternoon to be the older brother to _his_ son and I will never ask you to interact with him again. If you honestly believe, after one afternoon that you never want to see blond hair and blue eyes, I will allow you to take non-stop assignments out of the village. You can disappear from the memories of everyone who ever knew and cared about you. The cost of this is that you take one day with the boy and then tell him yourself that you will never see him again."

Kakashi felt the Sharingan in his left eye socket start spinning angrily at the Hokage's proposal. Studiously ignoring the subtle chakra drain that Obito's gift suddenly imposed, the silver-haired soldier considered the Hokage's offer. On one hand, the afternoon with Naruto would likely be one of the most painful he would ever experience. On the other, the Sandaime's carrot was too great of an incentive to ignore. He could remain detached for an afternoon. He had to, or Naruto would fall under the curse as well.

Looking up and he pulled his hitai-ite over the left side of his face, Kakashi's single black eye roved the Hokage's face before he nodded curtly. "Hokage-sama, I accept." Hidden beneath the metal plate, the blood-red Sharingan eye spun madly.


	3. Chapter 3

"Who are you, ANBU-san?"

Naruto's huge blue eyes stared out from between whiskered cheeks, unblinkingly fixed on the masked man in front of him. When Jiji had called the boy to his office yesterday, Naruto had been ecstatic to hear that there was an ANBU agent who was going to spend today playing with the blond. It was the first time that _anyone_ aside from Jiji had asked to spend time with Naruto. As such, the nervous boy had barely slept last night. He had awoken this morning to a lanky individual in a full-length tan cloak clambering through his window. Pulling off his sleeping cap, Naruto was struck with the impression that the man in front of him seem relaxed and scared, at the same time.

While this was interesting, the boy didn't really bother devoting too much thought to the matter. Instead, Naruto contented himself with inspecting this visitor-for-a-day. The man was tall, but not huge. Some of the ANBU who regularly watched Jiji towered over even the other ANBU, but this man had thinner shoulders than Bear and Boar. The mask was not one Naruto recognized, either. Everything beyond general body-size was hidden by the agent's tan cloak.

"You can call me Inu." The masked figure regarded Naruto, head tilted to the side like his namesake. After several seconds of rubbing tired eyes, Inu could almost see a shock of energy run through the boy's system. Naruto's hands fell to his sides and blue eyes brightened with enthusiasm. Springing from his bed, he rushed toward the man in the window only to be stopped by a package thrust into his hands. "I got you something."

Naruto looked at the box in his hands for several seconds before he turned curious eyes to the masked face above him. "What's this, Inu-san?"

"Hasn't Hokage-sama given you gifts for your birthday, Naruto-kun?" Kakashi wasn't sure what to make of the blond's reaction. The old man doted on Naruto as much as his position allowed, and Kakashi had heard reports around the ANBU barracks of the Sandaime sequestering Naruto during his birthday several months ago. Those who had been part of the Hokage's guard detail that day had mentioned that it had taken significant effort to distract the boy, especially since he had been forcefully brought into the tower. It was almost inconceivable that the old man wouldn't have given a gift to his favorite blond as part of that effort. "I know it's a bit late, but I decided to get you something to celebrate anyway."

"Oh, that's what this is." Naruto's face brightened significantly as he made the connection. "Jiji gave me my hat for my birthday." A huge grin split the whiskered face as the boy reached back to his bed and grabbed the walrus-esque sleeping cap. Fitting it onto his head, the boy's grin grew until blue eyes were forced closed. "It feels like Jiji, 'ttebayo."

Behind his mask, Kakashi's eyes widened. Tora had mentioned that the boy had started to develop some sense of his own chakra. If Naruto could identify the residual chakra from the Sandaime handling the gift, it spoke well to the boy's latent potential as a sensor. Filing that thought away as something to make a game out of later in the day, Inu gestured to the still wrapped box in the boy's hands. "Well, I hope that you'll like this as well."

Eagerly the boy started tearing the paper off the thin package. After several seconds, blue eyes widened as he inspected the pair of green goggles. Grinning happily, he strapped them on his head, replacing the sleeping cap on the bed. "Wow, thanks Inu-san! They're really cool, dattebayo!"

Behind his mask, Kakashi smiled despite himself. Naruto's enthusiasm was contagious. "How do they feel?"

Naruto's face screwed up as he considered the question. "They make my hair feel a little tingly, but they aren't too tight. I like them a lot, 'ttebayo. Thanks, Inu-san!"

"Well, I'm glad you like them. Why don't you get dressed while I make breakfast?"

Naruto whooped and turned to his closet, tearing off his pajama top and throwing it into a basket on the floor as he reached in and grabbed the first shirt in his closet. Kakashi smiled to himself as he walked to the kitchen. Opening the cupboard doors, the cloaked agent began familiarizing himself with the cooking equipment available to the four-year-old. By the time Kakashi had inspected Naruto's collection of cooking apparel and pulled out the pots and pans he wanted, Naruto had returned to the kitchen, pulling an oversized white shirt over his head.

"What'cha making, Inu-san?" Seeing that the masked man was making no move toward his refrigerator, Naruto pulled a chair from his table. Jumping on it the blond pressed as close as he could to the strange man, curiosity etched onto his face.

"I was thinking that we'd have some sardines with rice and a side of sliced vegetables. How does that sound, Naruto-kun?" Naruto pouted at the proposed menu and opened his mouth to argue with the masked figure in front of him. He was, however stopped short by the ANBU agent's quip. "Hokage-sama informed me of a promise you made to him regarding your vegetables. You wouldn't want me to have to inform him that you broke that promise, would you?"

Naruto's mouth quickly flipped shut. Screwing his eyes up for a brief second, the whiskered boy came up with an alternative approach to avoid the unwanted addition to his breakfast. "I don't have any vegetables Inu-san. And I'm really hungry, so I don't want to wait for you to go get them from the market, 'ttebayo." Suddenly, blue eyes lit up in excitement. "Let's just eat ramen! I've got plenty of ramen and I can share with you, dattebayo! Have you tried ramen, Inu-san? It's my favorite. It-"

Naruto's rambling proposal was cut off by Inu's wry chuckle. Warily, the young boy watched the cloaked figure reach inside the folds of his robe. Slowly, Inu withdrew a scroll and Naruto relaxed. For some reason, this caused Inu's chuckle to intensify and Naruto's apprehension returned with renewed intensity. Calming himself, the ANBU agent rolled the long paper out over the countertop. Cautiously, Naruto inched his chair even closer to inspect the strange markings scribbled all over the surface of the scroll. With his voice just above a whisper, Naruto asked apprehensively: "Those words don't make sense, Inu-san. What does it say, dattebayo?"

Inu's masked face turned toward Naruto, and, even though the boy couldn't see any part of the older boy's face, the blond could feel the grin etched there. "This, Naruto-kun, is an example of fūinjutsu. It is the ninja art of sealing and it allows me …" At this, Kakashi channeled a bit of chakra. With a poof of smoke, the surface of the scroll was filled with a diverse collection of fresh vegetables, along with a dozen sardines and a bag of rice. "… to store the ingredients for our breakfast in a small, easy-to-hold package."

Naruto stared, torn between amazement at this new trick and indignation at the affront to his meal that had come from it. Not waiting for the boy to make up his mind, Kakashi turned and began preparing breakfast on the stove. Eventually, Naruto decided that he would choose to be glad for the man and the time he was spending with him. Leaning close, he began peppering Inu with questions about the trick the ANBU agent had just shown.

Kakashi smiled beneath his masks and enjoyed the attention, responding to Naruto's questions while deftly attending to their meal. Within minutes, two heaping plates were on the table and with a hearty "Itadakimasu!" Naruto dug in. After several seconds, he looked up with bulging cheeks, only to have his eyes follow suit as he observed the masked figure's cleaned plate. "How'd you eat it so fast, Inu-san? I haven't even eaten half of mine."

When his companion simply sat there, Naruto pouted. "Is it another ninja trick? What'd Jiji call them? Um, jutsu! That's what it was." Naruto smiled up at the older man in front of him. "Jiji's teaching me how to be a great ninja. You must be a really good ninja too, Inu-san. You get to wear the ANBU mask. Mouse-san said that you gots to be super strong to wear those, 'ttebayo. The ANBU work for Jiji and keep him safe."

Tilting his head to the side, Inu regarded Naruto for a second before he responded. "ANBU identities are secret, so we wear the mask to hide who we are. Have you ever seen an ANBU's face, Naruto-kun?" The boy shook his head and Kakashi continued. "I eat very quickly so that no one sees my face, even when I'm not wearing the ANBU mask. In fact, no one in the village has seen it." The last comment was made with a subtle touch of pride. Kakashi was quite aware of the bounty several of the less respectful individuals within the village had offered for pictures of him without his mask, but even the nurses at the hospital had been thwarted by the pre-emptive measures he had set up.

Naruto's face screwed up at Inu's declaration, possibly trying to decide if the older boy was being truthful before the small brow furrowed in determination and he leveled a challenging finger at Inu. "Well, I'm gonna' see your face one day, Inu-san. I'll be the first person to see it, 'ttebayo."

The two sat, frozen in their face-off for several seconds before Naruto returned to his breakfast as though nothing had happened. Kakashi blinked behind his mask, not sure what to make of the boy's sudden change in mannerisms. "Just how do you propose to go about doing that, Naruto-kun?"

The boy grinned widely with bulging cheeks. He started to answer, but the sheer amount of food in his cheeks caused him to start coughing violently. It took several seconds before the coughing quieted. Eventually though, with the help of several gulps of orange juice, the blond's breathing returned to normal.

"You're gonna show me." Naruto's answer was so unexpected and spoken with such conviction that Kakashi had to work for several seconds to realize that the comment must be an answer to his question.

He stared at the boy who had returned to his breakfast with a determination that the silver-haired young man found quite amusing. It hurt to see reminders of the man he had loved so dearly in this boy, but it was also invigorating to see the four-year-old's energy. "Maa, Naruto-kun," The boy looked over bulging cheeks, eyes curious. "After you've swallowed that bite, would you tell me why you think I'll show you my face?"

The boy nodded vigorously and swallowed his mouthful, taking several more gulps from his glass of orange juice before smiling up at the masked figure in front of him. "Well, Inu-san, I'm going to be the Hokage one day, 'ttebayo."

Kakashi nodded but failed to see how that linked to showing the boy his face. Instead of asking, though, he waited, content with the idea that Naruto would explain eventually. When no answer was forthcoming, and Naruto turned back towards his breakfast, Kakashi realized that Naruto expected that to explain his thought process. "Why does you becoming the Hokage mean that I'll show you my face, Naruto-kun?"

Blue eyes lit up with excitement as the boy turned to regard the man in front of him. "Jiji told me that the Hokage has the entire village as his family. That means that one day you're gonna be part of my family, 'ttebayo. I'll protect you and keep you safe, and one day you'll want to show me your face."

Kakashi sat, unmoving, so Naruto returned to his breakfast. The boy didn't, couldn't know how deeply those words had cut. It was astounding how much of a yearning Kakashi saw in those bright, blue eyes. The Sandaime's words came back, haunting the young ANBU captain: _"He wants to be Hokage so that he can have a family. One that loves and supports him and makes him feel valued."_ He couldn't risk it, could he? But every time Kakashi worked up the nerve to say something, bright blue eyes flashed in his mind, reminding him of Naruto's longing and the isolation he experienced regularly.

After several minutes, Naruto finished his breakfast and got up to wash the dishes. Inu-san hadn't moved for several minutes, and Naruto was starting to worry. After he had washed the dishes, the blond boy clambered back onto his chair and scooted it over towards the cloaked figure. Carefully, he reached out and touched Inu-san's shoulder. With a shudder, the ANBU turned his head so that the empty eye sockets of his mask were locked with Naruto's bright blues. "Are you okay, Inu-san?" Naruto whispered.

Shaking his head to clear it and return to the present, Kakashi regarded the boy on the chair in front of him. "I'm alright Naruto-kun. You just reminded me of someone I once knew." Standing abruptly, the ANBU agent gestured to the boy leaning from a kitchen chair. "If you get ready to go outside, we can go play in the park, Naruto-kun."

The boy whooped and leapt to the ground, running into his bedroom to prepare for an adventure in the frozen world outside. It didn't escape the young ANBU agent's notice how Naruto slowed in his hurry to don his new goggles with a care that approached reverence. After inspecting himself in the mirror, bright blue eyes found the holes in a porcelain mask and Naruto nodded and grinned to show that he was ready to go outside. Beneath the stoic face painted on his mask, Kakashi had to wonder to himself if he really had the willpower to resist the charm of this orphaned ray of sunshine for an entire day.

* * *

"So, what'cha wanna do today, Inu-san?"

Naruto bounced out of the apartment, collecting two large handfuls of snow and tossing them high overhead so that they could fall, glistening in the sunlight. Inu came onto the street at a more sedate pace and watched the boy continue to toss handfuls of snow overhead. When Naruto returned his attention to the tan-cloaked individual, Kakashi squatted down until he was at eye level with the grinning blond. "I was thinking we could play hide-and-seek. Does that sound like fun to you, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto's brow screwed up in thought. "I think… I think I've heard the kids on the playground say that name. How do you play, Inu-san?"

Kakashi was baffled. "You've never played hide-and-seek, Naruto-kun? What games do you play with your friends?"

It was instantly clear that this was the wrong thing to ask as the warmth faded from Naruto's eyes and he quickly looked down at shuffling feet. The boy mumbled to himself, but Kakashi could still make out the pained response: "I don't have any friends. No one lets me play with them."

Kakashi was instantly assaulted with a flood of self-recriminating thoughts, both for forgetting Naruto's isolation and for his part in causing it. Pushing the guilt to the deepest part of his mind for the moment, the older boy squatted down next to his blond companion. "Well, let's teach you then. But first, we need to get to a good place to practice." Gloved hands reached out and grabbed Naruto's cold fingers as Inu stood from the snow. "Hold on tight," came the whisper before the pair disappeared from the streets in a swirling cloud of snow.

They arrived at their destination among another swirl of snowflakes. It took Naruto a second for his senses to re-orient after the quick travel of the Shunshin. When he finally started to take stock of his surroundings, Naruto realized that they were no longer on the street in front of his house. Instead, they were in a large clearing with a frozen river running along the northern edge. The only other landmarks were the three large wooden posts mounted in the ground and a moderately sized stone slab situated next to the path that those without an awesome ninja to bring them would need to take to get to this training ground. The roof of the Hokage's tower peaked over the edge of the trees, so Naruto knew they weren't that far from the center of the village.

Naruto turned to Inu in time to see the masked agent reach into his satchel and remove a kunai knife. Whatever the blond was about to say was quickly forgotten as he watched the older boy cut the thumb of his left hand and form five hand signs so quickly that Naruto couldn't follow. Kakashi slammed the bleeding appendage down onto the ground, and there was a puff of smoke. After a second of coughing, the smoke cleared to reveal a small brown pug sitting in the snow with a decidedly bored expression on his face. He wore a Leaf ninja headband on his forehead and a blue vest with a stylized face printed on the back. Naruto turned to Inu with his mouth wide open.

"Yo, Inu. What did you call me for?" The small dog spoke with a surprisingly gruff voice. Looking around beady black eyes quickly landed on the stunned blond. "Do you have a protection detail? I thought we agreed that I was only going to help if they got kidnapped. I know I'm cute and all, but I can only handle so much attention."

"As I recall, Pakkun, you proposed that, but I never agreed to your terms. And you know you love being cuddled" Inu's amusement was evident even to Naruto. The older teen gestured to the blond whose eyes were trying their best to escape their sockets. "This is Uzumaki Naruto-kun, the boy Hokage-sama suggested we meet. I was wondering if you could help me teach him how to play hide-and-seek."

"Your dog talked! And he came from the smoke, 'ttebayo! How'd you do that, Inu-san?" Naruto seemed to come unstuck from whatever shock had held him captive and seemed determined to make up for his silence up to this point. "Is that another jutsu, like the other one we did? The one to get us here? Can you teach me those jutsu, Inu-san? I learn really fast. Jiji said so, dattebayo. He said I'm doin' really good at making' the leaf stick to my face. I bet I could learn how to do those jutsu if you taught me-". Naruto's rambling was cut short when the small dog walked over and lightly nipped the boy's hand.

"My name's Pakkun, pup. Inu and I work together as ninja for the village. There's no way you're ready to take on either Kuchiyose or Shunshin no Jutsu with your current skill set. That's okay, though. We can work on other ninja skills that are just as valuable." Naruto pouted briefly, but another nip from Pakkun quickly ended the intended sulk. "Don't think you can pull that on me, kid. Tell you what. If you listen well and work hard at this exercise, I'll let you feel my paws. They're super soft." At this, the small pug raised a paw to show the pad, as if to persuade Naruto of his claim with a visual inspection.

Naruto looked at the paw for several seconds before shifting his focus to stare into small black eyes. "Okay, Pakkun-sensei. What do we need to do?"

The dog turned a wide grin on the suddenly frozen ANBU agent. "Well, how do you like that, Inu? I get to be Pakkun-sensei. Guess the fact that I'm cute means he likes me more than you."

"It's 'cause he's using his name, Inu-san." Naruto spoke around the dog toward his human playmate. "I got's to be 'spectful to the ANBU, but you're not using your real name. Don' worry. When I'm Hokage and you show me your face, you can be sensei too, dattebayo."

Kakashi unfroze himself with some effort. This boy really didn't realize the impact he had with simple statements like that. Stuffing those thoughts away to never be considered again, he addressed the smiling blond: "We'll see what the future holds, Naruto-kun. In the meantime, how about we explain how to play hide-and-seek?" Kakashi brushed some snow off the top of one of the posts and lifted Naruto to sit on it. Pakkun hoped up onto the blond's lap and settled there. Small fingers started absently petting the brown ears and small black eyes rolled up into the pug's head, a stupid grin working its way onto the wrinkled face. Kakashi snorted silently behind his porcelain mask. _Doesn't like kids indeed_.

"To play hide-and-seek, you need at least two people. More is better, but for the first time, it will just be you, Pakkun, and I. One person is the seeker and everyone else is the hider. The seeker has to close their eyes and count to one hundred." Naruto's eyes grew wide at the number. Seeing the response, Kakashi decided to amend the count, "Okay, we'll count to twenty instead. While the seeker is counting, the hiders all try to hide away so that the seeker can't find them. After the seeker finishes counting, he looks around and tries to find everyone who's hiding. The last person to be found wins and gets to be the seeker next time."

Naruto had grown visibly more excited as Kakashi's description had shifted from counting towards the more active parts of the game and he was now nodding his head enthusiastically, small fingers still working to rub their way through Pakkun's brainpan. "I get it, Inu-san. You and Pakkun-sensei and me's all gonna play together. Who gets to be the seeker first?" The boy had managed to maneuver Pakkun off his lap and placed the still grinning pug onto the post beside him. Rotating himself, the small blond began clambering off the top of the post, moving with surprising dexterity for one so small to get himself to the ground. When he had successfully made his way to the ground, expectant blue eyes turned up to the masked face.

Slightly uncomfortable with the happy acceptance that shone in Naruto's eyes, Kakashi escaped by reaching to the top of the post and pushing Pakkun off. The pug landed in a large drift at the base of the post and shook himself clean, glaring at the tan-cloaked ANBU agent the entire time. Turning to Naruto, who was struggling valiantly to hold his giggle behind two clasped hands, Pakkun responded to the boy's question. "I think that Inu should be seeker. You and I will team up for the first rounds so I can help you figure out how to hide."

The boy turned expectant eyes to Inu who nodded, grateful that Pakkun was taking the lead for now. He could use the first "20" seconds to regain his bearings. He had not spent two hours in Naruto's presence and he was already exhausted. Those ANBU agents who had claimed this was the easiest assignment you could receive had clearly not spent any time interacting with their hyperactive charge. Once again, Kakashi ignored the anger that thought caused in favor of putting his hands over his mask and slowly starting to count. Naruto immediately began running south to the entrance of the training ground, giggling all the way. Kakashi was thankful to hear Pakkun gruffly reminding the boy that "Inu can hear us, so we have to be quiet."

The following hours were a blur to all three participants in the small game. Naruto had never had so much fun. He was getting _ninja training_ from an ANBU! And best of all, neither Pakkun-sensei nor Inu-san made the blond boy feel unwanted in the slightest. Kakashi, for his part, could not believe how much energy the small boy had. Even as he was hiding, the boy could barely sit still, and he showed a quick and active mind when choosing his hiding spots. Pakkun was simply glad that Kakashi seemed to be losing himself in the game. Naruto had already worked his way into the ANBU's conscious and Inu would be hard-pressed to abandon the boy at the end of the day.

Once, after several rounds hiding with Pakkun and several seeking the deliberate clues Inu left out, Kakashi was disappointed at how poorly Naruto had hidden himself behind a bush. The boy's orange jacket was sticking out the back and he was barely holding in giggles, a behaviour that Pakkun had already corrected. The young man approached to reprimand the boy on his mistake and was forced to jump back a second later as a huge pile of snow fell off one of the overhanging branches and revealed a smugly grinning Pakkun. Naruto instantly leapt from his hiding place, laughing loudly as he turned to the small dog. "Did we get him, Pakkun-sensei?"

"Nah, pup. He's too quick for that," was the solemn reply.

Naruto pouted for a minute before Inu came over and tagged him lightly on the shoulder. "I found you, Naruto-kun. Whose idea was it to douse me in the snow?"

"It was mine, 'ttebayo!" Naruto puffed his chest out proudly. "Pakkun-sensei told me that if I made lots of noise, you'd find us, so I thought we should make a trick for you. I sat and laughed, and Pakkun-sensei hid up in the tree to surprise you."

"Your plan was a good one. If I were even a bit slower, I'd be covered in snow right now." Naruto practically glowed at Inu's praise and Kakashi smiled to himself. "Why don't we play one more time and then we'll go in for lunch?" Naruto cheered loudly at the suggestion and Kakashi smiled as he continued. "I think you've learned enough from Pakkun and I that you can hide on your own this time. We'll expand the search area. Pakkun and I will give you a big head start and then come to find you. You can go anywhere in this training field, but don't go beyond that. We have to keep you safe and without one of us watching you, we need to know where you are."

Naruto nodded and rushed into the woods as soon as both of his playmates had their eyes covered. The pair sat until they could tell that Naruto was far out of hearing range and then Pakkun spoke up. "He's a good pup. Eager and quick to learn."

The tone was conversational and Kakashi took several seconds to consider and respond, just as calmly. "He is. I imagine he'll be a fine shinobi. The academy will be torture for him, though. Has he sat still for more than a minute at a time the entire morning?"

"No, he hasn't. Probably a combination of being an Uzumaki and the other thing. Kakashi, are you still going to…?" Pakkun's rough voice trailed off, his point clear even if he didn't verbalize it.

Kakashi sat and pondered for several seconds before he began to hesitantly answer the question. "I- "

"Stop it!" Naruto's voice broke through the somber mood. His voice was sharp and panicked, with none of the enthusiasm from the morning. Inu and Pakkun shared a look before sprinting in the direction of the cry.

Within several seconds, they had arrived at a small clearing on the eastern side of the training ground. Naruto stood with tears streaking his face, yelling defiantly at a pair of smirking boys. They were several years older than Naruto and towered over the small blond. Kakashi leapt to a tree branch before entering the clearing so that he would be able to understand the situation before intervening.

"- pathetic. I bet he's playing with himself because no one else will." The first boy had dark hair frizzing in all directions from underneath a haphazardly tied bandana and a hard face. His grin grew as Naruto shrunk under the verbal blow.

"No, I'm not. I'm playing with Inu-san and Pakkun-sensei, dattebayo. We're playing hide-and-seek. Now stop being mean and leave me alone." Naruto's lip trembled as he spoke, betraying his distress.

"Well, there you go." The second boy joined in now, brown beetle eyes glittering over a bulbous, swollen nose. "Inu must be one of the ANBU that Hokage-sama assigns to keep us safe from you. He must have felt sorry for you and ordered this 'Inu' to keep the little monster busy for a day."

Kakashi had heard enough. He used the Shunshin to appear in the space between Naruto and the two trouble-makers, tan cloak flaring in a subtle wind. Pakkun was right next to him, hackles raised as he growled at the delinquents. The two academy-age boys started as they recognized the porcelain mask, fleeing into the woods in the next instant.

Kakashi dismissed them as irrelevant and turned back to Naruto who had collapsed to his knees with the absence of the young antagonists. Kneeling, the teenaged boy tenderly reached out to his blue-eyed charge. When Naruto didn't pull away, Kakashi picked the boy up and sat in the snow, cradling the shivering frame in his lap. Pakkun came over and pushed his nose through the boy's arms until they opened enough for the pug to crawl into a tight hug. The three sat in that position for several minutes until Naruto moved and mumbled something into Pakkun's fur.

"What did you say, Naruto-kun?" Kakashi was dangerously close to having a panic attack at Naruto's distress and idly regretted not following up on dealing with the truant boys. Ah well, he remembered their faces, so he ought to be able to inquire at the academy later.

"Did Jiji make you do it?" Naruto's question was not muffled anymore, but it didn't help Kakashi's understanding. As he was preparing to ask what Naruto meant, blue eyes turned up to look at his mask, silently pleading for Inu to make the hurt go away. "Did Jiji make you come play with me today? They said that- "

"I heard them Naruto-kun." Kakashi's voice was soft as he considered his options. Truthfully, he had come today at the Hokage's command. However, to tell that to Naruto was unthinkable. He could not hurt the boy that way. Coming to a decision, he gently lifted Naruto off his lap and stood the boy facing him in the snow. "I am going to answer your question, but I need Hokage-sama's permission to answer it the way I want." Reaching into his pouch, he withdrew the same kunai knife that had summoned Pakkun earlier that morning. Cutting his finger, he flashed through the hand signs and slammed a bloody palm on the ground. This time, the fog cleared to reveal a red-coated greyhound with a white snout and the same jacket and headband combo that Pakkun wore.

Naruto started at the second summon, but Kakashi cut in before he could lose his nerve, "Ūhei, I need you to deliver several messages for me. First, head to HQ and ask them to set up a level one privacy zone in Uzumaki Naruto's apartment. Then, head to Hokage-sama's office and ask permission for an Open Scroll. Report back when you're done."

Ūhei nodded and took off at top speed, leaving a cloud of snow in the air and Kakashi with the task of distracting the miserable four-year-old until he could explain things to his liking. Not knowing what to say, the masked teenager sat, watching Naruto cling to Pakkun for dear life until, mercifully quickly, Ūhei returned. "Hokage-sama says you're cleared for the Open Scroll, Inu." The dog looked curiously between the parties gathered in the clearing. "He wants you to do it in his office, though, so I'd hurry up."

"Thanks, Ūhei," Kakashi said quietly. "You can go now." With a nod, the greyhound disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Kakashi looked at Naruto and held out his hand. "Well, Naruto-kun, your Jiji is waiting. Let's go get this whole mess sorted out."

Naruto looked long and hard at Inu's masked face before slowly extending his right hand, the left still holding Pakkun tightly to his chest. Feeling ridiculously grateful for the small act of trust, Kakashi took Naruto's hand and the trio vanished from the clearing in a swirl of snow.


	4. Chapter 4

"Welcome, Naruto, Inu-san, Pakkun-san. I hear we need to have a chat."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk, with his hands folded in his lap and a serious look on his face. The group had just arrived in the middle of his well-lit study, scattering a flurry of snow on the floor with their arrival. A bright fire warmed the room from the stove in the corner. The old man had decided to stoke it back to life when he heard there were guests coming. Now he took a moment to survey the new arrivals. Naruto looked miserable. Normally bright blue eyes were dim and slightly fearful. Kakashi was stoic under his ANBU robes, but the Hokage could feel the tension radiating from the troubled teen.

Pakkun wiggled his way out of Naruto's hold and landed on the floor, turning to stare at the boy. "Well pup, I need to go. The chakra Inu used to summon me has almost been used up. Don't worry," Naruto's face had turned fearful at the pug's comment. "You're here with Hokage-sama. Inu would never purposely let anyone hurt you, either. After you three have your talk, Inu will summon me back. With the entire pack this time." The last comment was directed at the cloaked figure standing sullenly in the middle of the room. Inu heard, though, and nodded to show his understanding. "Well then, Hokage-sama," the pug dipped his head at the wizened figure before licking Naruto's fingers and disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"May I have a hug, Naruto?" Hiruzen held out his arms and was gratified to find them almost immediately full of a small boy wrapped in a soggy jacket. "Let's get you out of this before you get sick," the old man hugged the small figure tightly before he started to remove the wet garments and lay them by the fire to dry. Reaching to his desk, the Hokage grabbed a pair of Naruto's pajamas, retrieved from the boy's apartment at the village leader's request. Working quickly, he helped the young blond get into the warm clothing before turning to Inu, standing tentatively in the center of the room. The confused young man had watched the entire procedure with something akin to fascination.

"It's time to Open the Scroll, Inu." The Hokage's voice broke the masked figure out of his reverie. "You can hang your gear up to dry. It wouldn't do for you to get sick either."

At this, the ANBU agent reached up toward his hood. He stopped, however, when he noticed Naruto's eyes following his every move. Chuckling to himself, the young man walked forward and knelt in front of the boy. "Are you gonna take off your jacket, Inu-san? ANBUs aren't supposed to do that, 'ttebayo. They gots to keep their 'denty secret." Naruto's voice was a whisper, so entranced was he at the prospect of seeing what was underneath the cloaks that his protectors wore.

Inu nodded in answer to the boy's question. "Opening the Scroll is a phrase that means an ANBU agent is going to take off their mask. Hokage-sama has given me permission to tell you a story and I'd like to do that as myself, not as Inu. Will you help me take my jacket and mask off, Naruto-kun?"

The whiskered face nodded solemnly, and the boy scooted himself off the Hokage's lap until he was standing on the floor. Slowly, small fingers grabbed the rough fabric and pushed back the hood of the cloak. Naruto watched as silver hair exploded to an impossibly spiky position above the man's head after it had been released from the hood. Inu stood and unzipped his cloak to reveal a chest plate and armguards made of a sturdy bone-colored material covering a navy-blue bodysuit. The cloak was laid carefully over the back of one of the chairs in the office before Inu knelt to Naruto's level again.

Kakashi took a shuddering breath as small, frail fingers reached up and grabbed the bottom of the porcelain mask, slowly lifting it away. His eyes closed as the young man waited for some reaction from the blond. He was unprepared for the dismayed exclamation from the youngest person in the room. "Inu-san, why do you have a mask under your mask? That's cheating! I thought I was gonna get to see your face, 'ttebayo!"

Both eyes flew open and stared at Naruto, who had turned away, pouting at the perceived injustice. Kakashi had all but forgotten the half-face mask that he always wore. It had taken a bit of finagling, but he had been able to convince the ANBU quartermaster to add the nose-high covering to all his outfits. "Don't be too hard on him, Naruto," the Hokage spoke from his chair. The old man wore a warm smile and was chuckling to himself as he watched two boys. "The last person Inu showed his face was the Yondaime. Even I haven't seen him without the second mask."

Naruto's eyes swung back to Kakashi's face at that and the little boy gasped when he met Kakashi's gaze. Matching blue eyes were drawn irresistibly to the Sharingan eye that swirled slowly in Inu's left socket. "Your eye is red, Inu-san! And it gots little dots in it, 'ttebayo!"

"This is a Sharingan," Kakashi gestured to the scar running vertically across his left eye socket. "It was a dying gift from my best friend, Uchiha Obito. It's also a reminder of how much of a failure I am." Naruto's hands gently traced the scar running down the young man's face. Kakashi felt a chill run down his back at the contact; the hands were soft and the way they ran tenderly over the scar served to remind the young man of the fact that this was the most nonviolent physical contact he had allowed himself to experience in years.

"Now Inu-san," the Sandaime's voice cut through the room and reminded the two boys that they were not alone. Both sets of eyes jerked to the wizened face whose expression was kindly but housed a pair of eyes with unwavering steel in them. "I believe that you and I have discussed that topic at length. I know that Naruto will agree with me that your decision to continue martyring yourself for past mistakes will only prevent you from growing for the future and rob you of the opportunity for present happiness." Warm black eyes locked directly with Naruto's azures and the old man smiled.

"That's right!" Naruto turned back to Kakashi as he chirped his answer. "I was sad 'cause no one liked me and Jiji told me that it wasn't fair for me to keep being sad about it. There's people who's gonna be my family one day and I need to learn how to be happy for them, dattebayo. I don't like being sad, anyway. 'Sides, your friend must have liked you a lot to give you his eyeball. Even if that is kinda gross." Naruto's face as he considered the idea of taking someone else's eye drew a full laugh from Sarutobi and a grudging chuckle from Kakashi.

"Besides, we need to explain ourselves to Naruto." Once again both sets of eyes swung toward the Hokage. The old man surveyed both boys, taking note of the surprise on Naruto's face and the panic that stole through Kakashi's eyes. "I do mean we both need to make an explanation, though. If you would like to start with your story, Inu-san, you may. Otherwise, I will explain why today was the first time that Naruto's ANBU guard ended up playing with him…"

"Hokage-sama," Kakashi's voice was slightly high pitched and rushed, betraying his worry at the old man's hidden threat. "I think that I would like to tell my story first." At the old man's nod and subtle smile, the silver-haired genius took a second to compose himself before he gestured to the chairs seated around the fire. "We should probably sit, Naruto-kun. Mine is not a short story, so we will likely be here for a while. Perhaps even beyond lunch. Maybe we should go and get our food before –"

"Already taken care of," Sarutobi's smile and the vaguely predatory glint in the old man's eyes told Kakashi that the Hokage would allow no more stalling or working around this situation. "I have arranged for lunch to be provided to us at noon. There is nothing to prevent us from hearing your story."

Kakashi slumped into a chair as he watched Naruto struggle onto the Sandaime's lap. He had been well and truly thwarted. Some genius he was. "My real name is Hatake Kakashi and I am the last living member of the Hatake clan. My father died when I was five years old and left me all alone. Several years later, a promising ninja became my guardian and sensei. He was young, not much older than I am now, and Sandaime-sama had already promoted him to Jōnin and even entrusted him with a team of Genin. Yes, Naruto-kun?"

The blond's hand had started waving frantically in front of Hiruzen's face in the middle of Kakashi's introduction. "Kakashi-san, what's a Jōnin? And what's a Genin? And what do you mean a team of Genin? Is your sensei nice? Do you like him? Can I meet him?"

Naruto's questions stopped abruptly when he noticed Kakashi's posture stiffen at the last question. The trio sat in silence for several seconds before Kakashi shook himself and turned to the pajama-clad boy. "I apologize, Naruto-kun. Your question made me very sad because it made me think of my sensei. You see, he was the man who became the Yondaime Hokage. I love and respect him very much, as do all citizens of Konoha. But, as you know, it would be impossible to meet him, as he died defeating the Kyūbi." All three heads bowed simultaneously at that comment, each person considering the tragedy that was the Kyūbi attack.

Naruto was the first to break from his mourning posture, his energetic nature making extended contemplation difficult for him. He took to studying the two other men in the room until they noticed and returned their attention to him. "Thank you for your patience, Naruto-kun. I'm ready to continue telling the story now." Kakashi steadied himself and returned his attention to the boy in front of him. "A Jōnin is an elite ninja who takes on many difficult missions for the village. Some Jōnin have a team of three junior ninja, or Genin, that the Hokage has trusted them to teach. This task is only given to the most talented Jōnin and speaks highly of the ninja's skills and his character. Sandaime-sama," here the boy gestured with his chin toward the smiling face above Naruto's head. "asked the future Yondaime to teach a group made up of Nohara Rin, Uchiha Obito, and I."

Naruto grinned, closing his eyes to imagine a younger Kakashi playing with a group of friends and laughing together. After a moment, blue eyes opened to inspect Kakashi and the silver-haired boy's story continued. "We worked together for several years before the Third Great Shinobi War broke out. Even though we were children, we were given missions and we fought against enemy shinobi. During our last mission together, we were sent to destroy a bridge that Iwagakure was using to bring food and equipment to their soldiers."

The masked teenager stopped and took several breaths to steady himself before he began again. "Rin was captured during this mission and Obito brought me with him to rescue her. When we got to her location, an Iwa shinobi attacked us and damaged my eye so that I couldn't see on my left side. As we were escaping with Rin, the enemy collapsed a cave onto us. Obito saved my life by throwing me out of the way of the falling rocks. However, they fell on him and crushed his right side. He survived long enough to give me his Sharingan and asked me to keep Rin safe for him."

The masked teen fell silent then, his brow furrowed and face ashen. The trio sat in silence for several minutes. Kakashi stared blankly at the floor, while Naruto watched the boy with concern written on the whiskered face. Hiruzen smiled when he was confident neither boy would notice. Kakashi had been far more open than the Hokage had dared hope. The old man felt confident that it was only a matter of time before Naruto forced his way into Kakashi's life and rescued the troubled teen from the horrors of past failures.

Naruto proved the Sandaime's suspicions correct, as the young blond seemed to decide that further contact was needed to support the troubled teen sitting across from the pair. Scooting himself off the Hokage's lap, the whiskered boy made his way over to Kakashi's chair where the small four-year-old clumsily pulled himself onto the seat and hugged the much larger teenager. His Sharingan spun hungrily as Kakashi looked down at the golden hairs tickling his masked nose. After several more moments, Naruto broke the hug and settled himself to a more comfortable position on Kakashi's lap. Blue eyes turned up and regarded the black and swirling red above him. "Kakashi-san, that's really sad about Obito-san. He sounds really nice, 'ttebayo. What about Rin-san?"

"I failed." Kakashi's voice almost broke with the admission, quiet as it was. "Rin was kidnapped by Kirigakure several months later and I went to rescue her. I freed her from them, but it was a trap. The ninja from Kiri wanted me to bring her back to Konoha. They had made it so that Rin would destroy the village when she returned. I was determined to bring her back, but Rin knew what would happen and decided she would rather die than harm the village."

Kakashi's story continued, pouring from the damaged teen, as the audience of two bore witness to the scars of past failures. Sarutobi sat quietly while Naruto curled into the young teen's arms. "My sensei became the Yondaime Hokage not long after that. I was still very sad, but he asked me to be part of the ANBU, and I wanted to do something so that I didn't have to think about Rin and Obito. So, I joined ANBU and became Inu." Kakashi's gloved hand gestured to the painted mask that he had re-settled on the side of his head after Naruto had initially lifted it away. "I worked as a bodyguard, keeping the Yondaime safe, just like the ANBU who watch Sandaime-sama while he works."

"And then," here Kakashi's voice did crack. "the Kyūbi came and the Yondaime died making sure that the village of Konoha was safe. And I knew without a doubt that I am and have always been a failure. Every single person I've cared about has died and I couldn't do anything to save any of them." The last living member of the Hatake clan lapsed into silence then, stewing in his misery.

The group was silent for a moment before Naruto reached up and grabbed onto Kakashi's armor. Hauling himself up to a standing position, the blue eyes inspected the masked face seriously before the boy threw his arms around the older boy's neck and squeezed as hard as four-year-old arms could. Kakashi sat stunned for several seconds, before tentative hands reached up and returned the blond boy's hug. Eventually, the hug broke and Naruto leaned back to peer into Kakashi's mismatched eyes. "I'm sorry you're alone, Kakashi-san. I get sad sometimes and I've never even had a family, dattebayo. You must be really sad, 'cause you can 'member your family and miss 'em."

Blue eyes inspected the masked face, failing to notice how it lost all color at the last statement. Then, whiskered cheeks nodded resolutely, and the boy clambered off Kakashi's lap and faced Kakashi once pajamaed feet were firmly on the floor again. "Kakashi-san, I need you to bring Pakkun-sensei back, please. I want to ask him something."

It took several seconds for Naruto's words to process and even when they did, they didn't make much sense to the silver-haired agent. "What do you need to ask him, Naruto-kun?"

"It's a secret." The grin that was suddenly plastered across Naruto's face left both adults in the room a bit nervous, but, after a second Kakashi glanced at the Hokage. The Sandaime nodded, a smile starting to grow on his face, so the teenager pulled a kunai from his pouch and summoned Pakkun in a puff of smoke on the office floor.

"Kakashi, didn't you hear me?" Pakkun's gruff voice cut through the smoke before it had completely disappeared. "I said you needed to summon the entire pack this time. We've got to meet the kid."

A gloved hand waved helplessly at the still-grinning child in the center of the office. "I thought we still needed to talk, but Naruto-kun asked that I summon you. Apparently, he has a question to ask you."

The pug looked at Naruto, who had moved over to a corner of the office and was waving the small dog over impatiently. "I got's to ask you a question, Pakkun-sensei. Can you come over here fast?"

Sighing to himself, the brown pug leapt to the corner where Naruto started whispering softly to the dog. Kakashi noted through his stressed confusion that the boy had taken the pointers from earlier to heart. Even with two seasoned shinobi in the room, he still spoke quietly enough so as not to be heard. It was probably due to luck that he had turned away from them, but it would be easy enough to coach that habit as well. The momentary distraction evaluating Naruto's skills evaporated when the Sharingan noted that Pakkun's face lost its perpetually bored expression. The dog turned so that neither set of lips were visible and whispered back to Naruto.

After several more seconds, the pair turned around sporting matching grins. "Well, Naruto, what have you found out?" Sarutobi's voice was happy and the barest bit smug. The old man's position had afforded him a better angle to eavesdrop and he had apparently liked what he heard.

Still grinning widely, Naruto bowed low to the thoroughly bewildered Kakashi. "Gomenasai, Kakashi-san. I can't call you sensei."

Bewildered, and a bit hurt at the comment, Kakashi asked the obvious question: "Why not, Naruto-kun?"

"Pakkun-sensei told me it was okay to call you something else if you answered my question." Here the blond's grin grew so wide it squeezed both eyes closed. Kakashi noted with some trepidation that there were tears discretely leaking down the sides of the boy's whiskered face. "Kakashi-san, you said you're a failure, right? 'Cause you couldn't protect your family. Here's my question, Kakashi-san. Do you wanna be a failure?" There was a tinge of hesitation in Naruto's voice at the question, some indication that the answer might hurt him.

Mismatched eyes blinked slowly as the teen considered the question. He really had no idea how this answer could hurt Naruto. The silver-haired genius saw no trap with the words, so he chose to answer honestly: "No, I don't."

Blue eyes flew open and Naruto started crying for real, large drops running down his cheeks. "W-well, th-then I'm gonna make you m-my f-f-family, right now. Y-you can have a little br-brother right now, 'ttebayo, and I can have a big brother."

Kakashi sat in shock for a moment before he exploded into speech. "Didn't you listen to my story? I can't keep you safe. You'll get hurt from knowing me."

The teen looked at the young boy, masked face imploring the blond to understand. Naruto considered for a moment and nodded. "I heard your story, Kakashi-san. Everyone in your family got hurt and died, even though you loved them and tried really hard to protect them. But you don't want to be a failure. If you don't get more people to care about, you can't not be a failure. There's no one else to not be a failure to. You need someone to be your family to try again with. And I want to do that. You played with me this mornin' and it was really fun. Will you please be part of my family, Kakashi-san?"

Kakashi collapsed back into his chair as he surveyed Naruto's hopeful face, Pakkun's entirely-too-wide grin, and the Hokage's satisfied smirk. Damn it, the old man had known he wouldn't be able to say 'no' to this boy. Pakkun had seen it too, come to think of it. How was it that the genius was the only one who hadn't seen this coming? "You know, I'll still have to go on missions, right?"

He was grasping at straws now, hoping against hope that there was some way to save this boy. That feeble, selfish hope was shattered when Naruto nodded, beaming as he responded. "That's okay. I just want to spend time with you when you're back in the village, 'ttebayo."

Kakashi nodded numbly and Naruto cheered. Leaping to the teen, the small boy crawled up to Kakashi's chest and nestled his head in the stunned teen's shoulder. Kakashi was the only one who heard the soft whisper, "We're family now, Kaka-nii."


	5. Chapter 5

"Ne Jiji, do you know why Kaka-nii doesn't show anyone his face?"

Naruto looked up from the picture he was drawing to cast a curious glance at the old man working next to him at the desk. In the months since Naruto had decided that Kakashi was going to be part of his family, Sarutobi had created a comfortable schedule for the two boys. Kakashi was too skilled of a shinobi to keep him in the village for an extended period, but the teen allowed himself to relax around Naruto, so the Hokage had taken to assigning the last Hatake missions lasting several weeks and then allowed for several days with the rambunctious Uzumaki. Last time, Kakashi had even taken Naruto on a camping trip and taught the boy about setting up a safe campsite and foraging for food. Apparently, the blond was a natural.

Most days when Kakashi was out of the village, Naruto spent at least part of his day with the old man. Today, the pair had enjoyed the morning with Konohamaru before Hideko arrived and took the youngest Sarutobi home for his afternoon nap. The pair had told each other increasingly silly stories over lunch, and, after they had eaten, Hiruzen suggested that Naruto illustrate some of their make-believe adventures while the Hokage wrote poetry. Thus, the afternoon had settled into a companionable silence as the blond worked diligently illustrating Sarutobi's story of a monkey who had fought against a giant made of boulders with eyes that glowed like hot coals.

Hiruzen looked over the lip of his pipe at the bright blue eyes and considered. "Well, Naruto, I can't say that I do. I first met Kakashi many years ago, when he was about the age that you are now. His father brought him in to meet me and ask a favor of this old man. Even back then his hair was silver, and his face was covered." The old man's eyes sparkled as he considered a teaching opportunity and a game for the boy next to him. "Let's imagine reasons why Kakashi would always wear his mask, like we did over lunch. This time, though, let's try to keep the woman living on the moon out of the story and try to come up with a reason that makes sense."

The boy considered this idea deeply for several seconds, brow furrowing in concentration before he looked back up to the old man. "Maybe his face gets cold?" Blue eyes looked shyly up at the wrinkled face, trying to gauge whether this idea had any merit.

Hiruzen mused silently, chuckling internally, before he turned his eyes onto the hopeful face. "That's an interesting idea, Naruto. Let's think about it and see if that answer seems reasonable. Have you ever had your face get cold before your fingers or toes?" Naruto shook his head wordlessly and Hiruzen continued. "What about when you were camping in the forest? Did you see Kakashi acting like he was cold?" Again, the shaking head sent blond locks swishing across the boy's face. "Also, do you remember how hot the Land of Fire can get in the summer? Do you think Kakashi would get cold during the summer?"

"No." Naruto's face turned to a pout and blue eyes found the floor.

"Naruto," The old man's voice was conciliatory and brought blue eyes back to the old man's face. "It's not a bad idea, but we can think about reasons why it doesn't make sense, right? So, when you come up with another idea, try to think of it like we just did. Think about whether the reason makes sense with the other things you know. You're quite clever, so I know you can come up with more guesses. I'll be glad to help you think about whether it makes sense or not."

Naruto's face screwed up at the Hokage's encouragement and his eyes squinted in concentration. Hiruzen watched the boy puzzle at one idea before muttering to himself and evidently discarding it in favor of another one. This continued for several minutes and over a dozen apparent ideas. Finally, though, the boy seemed to come up with an explanation that he found suitable. Bright blue eyes found Sarutobi's face for a half second before the grin on the whiskered face widened enough to force them closed. "I have an idea, Jiji!"

"Well, let's hear it, my boy." The old man put down his brush and offered his full attention for the boy's proposal.

"I think that Kaka-nii wears the mask because his face looks funny, dattebayo. Maybe his lips are as big as a blimp. Or he has buckteeth. He wears the mask, so no one sees and makes fun of him for it, 'ttebayo." The boy nodded definitively as he proposed his answer.

Hiruzen blinked for a second over the end of his pipe as he considered Naruto's idea. Personally, the old man thought it more likely that Kakashi had worn the mask for health reasons as a child and now enjoyed the attention from those who tried desperately to see his face. However, he couldn't immediately think of a reason to dismiss the blond's idea. Instead, he opted to follow up on his teaching moment. "Can you explain what you thought about to make sure this idea makes sense, Naruto?"

"Sure Jiji!" Naruto's eyes opened, and he held up stubby fingers to count off his points. "The reason has to make sense all the time, 'because you said nobody has seen Kaka-nii's face. It needs to be something' with just his face or he'd wear more weird clothes than just his mask, 'ttebayo. If it was something his daddy did too, you'd know why he wore it. And," here the whiskered boy paused and his face sobered. "if Kaka-nii has only showed his face to th-my daddy and his daddy, an' he loved them lots, he might think other people's gonna laugh at him when they see his face. Sometimes people are mean if you look different, dattebayo." At this comment, stubby little fingers reached up and unconsciously rubbing along the whisker birth marks on the boy's face.

The Hokage puffed ponderously on his pipe for several seconds as he considered Naruto's reasoning and ruthlessly squashed down on his guilt over the boy's last comment. When the civilian academy started in April, he was sure that Naruto would find people willing to befriend the lively blond. "That makes sense, Naruto. Good job. You took all of the things you knew and made a guess that makes sense." The young boy grinned widely at the praise as the old man continued. "Why don't you draw a picture of what you think Kakashi's face looks like. That way you can show it to him when he gets into town the day after tomorrow."

Naruto cheered at the announcement that he would get to spend more time with his adoptive brother in the following days. Turning back towards his paper, the boy started scribbling wildly as his imagination supplied myriad descriptions of the face of the Hatake prodigy.

After several minutes, Naruto started pondering while he drew, coming back to the idea of trying to use what he knew to make a guess at something he didn't. Kaka-nii's face had to look like something. Maybe his face looked like someone else the blond already knew. Mentally, Naruto began superimposing the top half of the silver-haired teen's face on many of the adult faces in his memory. Combining the silver tufts and Sharingan eye with Jiji's wrinkled face ended up being a disturbing image and a shiver ran down the small boy's spine. Suddenly, though, the small face lit up in excitement and the boy turned toward Sarutobi, who had resumed work on his calligraphy. "Ne Jiji, do you have any pictures of Kaka-nii? Some that have his face kind of big, 'ttebayo? That I can cut up?"

The Hokage pondered for several seconds before he gestured in the air. A kneeling ANBU agent appeared with tan cloak rippling from the sudden movement. "Please bring a copy of all unclassified photos of Hatake Kakashi from the records vault." The silent ninja saluted and disappeared. Hiruzen turned to the blond whose grin had grown, if anything, larger as he heard to old man's order. "Now, Naruto, why do you want these pictures of your nii-san?"

The grin was still stretched across Naruto's face as he met Sarutobi's steady gaze. "Kaka-nii doesn't want anyone to see his face, but I have an idea to imagine what he looks like."

At that moment, the ANBU agent reappeared and offered the Hokage a folder full of different pieces of paper. The old man took it and nodded as the agent disappeared again in a rush of air. Skimming through the pictures, Hiruzen confirmed that there was nothing in the folder that could put either Kakashi or Konoha in danger. Once he was done, the old man offered the documents to Naruto, who bounced forward and eagerly accepted the pictures. When Naruto started giggling so hard the boy could barely stand, the old man entertained a moment of worry that Kakashi wasn't ready for whatever Naruto had planned for the teenager. This was quickly washed away, however, as the old man considered that Hatake Kakashi was an experienced ninja operative of Konoha. He was well trained and should be able to easily handle whatever chaos Naruto unleashed on him. And if not, it would serve the brat right for talking back when Sarutobi had initially suggested he connect with the small blond.

* * *

"Kakashi, my eternal rival, you must rise from your slumber!"

The booming voice echoed through Kakashi's small apartment and the silver-haired teenager woke from a deep sleep to send a kunai flying toward the mass of green that had just forced its way through his door. Palming two more, he sprang to a ready position from his bed, Sharingan spinning madly as he blearily attempted to bring the world into focus and understand what threat had forced its way past his security seals and into his apartment. To say he was disappointed in himself that it took three full seconds to finally wake up enough to identify the green spandex and groan to himself would be an understatement. Similarly, to say that he was not prepared to have Maito Gai's gleaming smile nearly blind him as the other teen held Kakashi's thrown kunai pinched between thick fingertips would have been neglecting a fundamental truth of the universe.

After a full five seconds, however, Kakashi sank back down to his bed where he stored the kunai knives in his hand under the mattress and, reaching up to catch the return toss from Gai without even looking, he placed the last kunai under his pillow. Then, turning to his uninvited houseguest wearing only his eternal navy-blue mask and a pair of underwear, the silver-haired teen glared to full effect with his Sharingan glowing ominously. "Gai." Pausing, the masked Jōnin closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he resumed glaring at the beaming intruder. "Why are you in my apartment at-" a quick check of the small digital display on his nightstand showed bright green numbers cheerily glowing. "5:26 in the morning? I know that we haven't seen each other for a while, but it's clearly not a mission or you wouldn't just be grinning like that. Couldn't you have at least waited until the actual morning to come and wake me up?"

Blinding white molars flashed as Gai's bowl-cut hair swished in a non-existent wind and the loud teen raised his right hand to point accusingly at Kakashi's bare chest. "You, my eternal rival, have violated our mutual promise. When I discovered this breach of trust, I realized that I have but one recourse. Therefore, I challenge you to-"

"Wait," Kakashi's voice cut through the exuberant teen's rambling. "What agreement are you talking about? I remember every single time you've gotten me to take part in one of those ridiculous challenges with you and I never agreed to something I haven't followed through on. Besides, you always impose those impossible consequences on yourself, not me."

Gai's black eyes began to water at his masked counterpart's declaration. "My eternal rival, how could you have forgotten the promise we made to each other. It was shortly after we had been assigned to our Genin teams…" The ninja's voice took on a dreamy quality, Gai's eyes lost their focus, and the room began to fade into mist as the big teen's subconscious wove a chakra web to share his imagined reality with everyone around him.

Kakashi, however, had far too much experience with his friend's unorthodox genjutsu skills to not notice what was happening and pulsed his chakra to break the illusion before it took hold completely. The spartan bedroom snapped back into focus and a pointed glare from the Sharingan was enough to bring the other teen back to the present.

With a sheepish grin, Gai focused himself and resumed speaking. "I promised that I would be the first true friend to whom you would reveal your entire face and you, in turn, promised that should you ever decide to reveal yourself to someone, you would allow me to be present at your unmasking."

Mismatched eyes stared incredulously at the grinning youth still standing in the doorway. "Let me repeat that, just to make sure I heard you correctly. You think that I showed someone my face, _which I have not shown to anyone other than my father and the Yondaime_. Putting aside how ridiculous that is for a moment, can you please explain to me why it was necessary to break into my room, using the _emergency protocols_ for bypassing my security seals, in the _middle of the night_ to wake me up and demand your retribution? What are you even doing awake at this hour?"

Gai's gleaming smile dimmed and Kakashi felt a chill of foreboding run down his spine. When he spoke, the bowl-cut young man's voice was sad, "Kakashi, I did not know how long you would remain within the village. Four times since the Yondaime's death I have heard that your youthful endeavors had returned you to the village at the same time as mine. Yet, in each of those instances, when I sought you out, it was only to find this apartment empty. You had already fled from your friends under the guise of taking a mission."

"Those were ANBU assigned missions! You know I can be called out at any time!" Kakashi's protest was met with a flat stare from Gai.

"Please do not attempt to deceive me, friend Kakashi. After the last time finding that I had missed you, I went to Hokage-sama to lodge a formal complaint. You have had no rest for far too long, my eternal rival. Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey does not abandon his friends to suffer. Hokage-sama informed me that you had requested each of your assignments away from Konoha, ignoring the suggestions of the ANBU commander and Hokage-sama himself that you should take time away from active duty and rest. The missions may have been assigned by ANBU, but they were requested by you."

Kakashi visibly deflated, but experience had taught him that distraction was a tremendously effective tool for dealing with his exuberant comrade. "Okay, that explains coming in at all hours of the night, but you still haven't explained what you were doing awake or why you think I showed someone my face."

"Ah!" Gai held up his index finger and grinned knowingly. "I returned from a mission early this morning! For several months I have been serving as a guard for one of the daimyo's cousins as they helped to conduct trade negotiations with the Land of Wind. My squad and I finished our mission and returned the client to the capitol several days ago. While they were content to return to our beautiful home at a more leisurely pace, I challenged myself to move at nothing less than a full-scale sprint as I returned to our beloved Konoha. After I debriefed Hokage-sama about our mission, I decided to return to my apartment. However, on the way through the village, I heard several Chūnin talking. One asked if his companion had 'seen Kakashi's face, because the picture was absolutely hilarious'." At this, the black-haired teen's face screwed up in tears. "I have come to assure you, my eternal rival, that no matter how hideous your face is, I will still cherish our friendship and will not judge you because of your deformities." With the statement, the loud teen burst into tears, quite unapologetically creating a racket that would likely have woken Kakashi's neighbors if the silver-haired teen hadn't instinctively activated the silencing seals around his apartment when he realized who was visiting him.

Kakashi blinked for several seconds before standing and walking to his closet where he withdrew the standard Konoha Jōnin outfit. Going into the restroom, he dressed and called out to the other teen, who was still weeping in the entryway. "Gai, stop crying. I haven't shown my face to anyone. And I am _not_ deformed." When the sobbing from the next room over quieted, Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief before continuing. "Now, do you feel awake enough to go back out and track down this rumor? I don't know who is claiming to have a picture of my face, but I'd like to put an end to these stories before I lose any chance to contain them."

Gai recovered quickly and flashed a gleaming smile as Kakashi returned to the room fully dressed. "My eternal rival, it would be my tremendous honor to join you in this quest to reclaim the mystery of your mask. No matter the location of these dastardly individuals who have concocted this plot, we will find them and bring them to justice. Why, if I cannot locate the source of this plot before noon today, I will walk around the village on my hands. And if I cannot do that- "

"Okay, Gai, thank you for that." Kakashi cut his enthusiastic friend off before the 'Beast' could build up a head of steam. "I need to report to Hokage-sama at noon for a mission anyway, but we ought to be able to take care of things before then. Now, where did you hear those Chūnin?"

Gai pondered for a moment before snapping his fingers. "I heard the Chūnin speaking with each other near the Akimichi district. The clearest place for us to look from there would be at Chakra Overflow. Many of our peers elect to share their social circumstances at that restaurant. If there are rumors of your appearance, we stand good chance to find some evidence, or at least hearing more rumors, there." With a nod to each other, the two Jōnin disappeared into the early morning light.

* * *

"Goodness, Kakashi. You certainly look the worse for wear."

The Hokage looked over his pipe at the disheveled shinobi kneeling approximately at attention in front of him. The old man smiled to himself, fully aware that the young man was reaping the results of Naruto's visit to the Hokage Tower yesterday.

" _Jiji, look! I made pictures of Kaka-nii, dattebayo!" Naruto bounced into Sarutobi's office, clutching a folder tightly to his chest and grinning like a madman._

 _The old man smiled and held out an arm to hug the whiskered boy, who carefully settled his folder on the desk and shed his jacket and scarf before crawling onto the white-robed lap and squeezing his favorite old man tightly around the chest. "Now then, Naruto, what do you have to show me?" Hiruzen asked while repositioning the blond and reaching for the folder. When the wrinkled fingers opened the stiff paper, what was laying within seemed to be pictures clipped from a magazine. Just as the Hokage was about to ask Naruto what was so special about these newspaper pictures, he looked closer and burst into a full-bellied laugh._

" _See, see? I used the pictures you gave me of Kaka-nii to figure out what he looks like without his mask." The blond was bouncing where he sat, and the old man shifted slightly so that the boy's tailbone would no longer drive itself into tired thighs with each wiggle. Despite any discomfort, the old man had to admit that Naruto had done exactly what he claimed. The orphaned Uzumaki had managed to scavenge dozens of pictures from a wide variety of sources and pasted cutouts of Kakashi's head onto them. This had led to a truly bizarre collection of silver hairdos atop a staggering variety of faces and body types. "That one was just 'cause I thought it'd be funny," Naruto commented as he pointed to a picture where the top of Kakashi's face had somehow fit seamlessly onto the picture of a swimsuit model. "I know Kaka-nii's not a girl, 'ttebayo, but it's really silly to look at."_

 _Looking over the stack, Sarutobi had to admit that Naruto had managed to create a truly impressive array of possible faces for the secretive teenager. With some effort, the old man calmed his laughter and turned to Naruto. "This is quite an impressive collection you have here, Naruto. I think our ANBU guards would be interested to see what you have made. Is it alright to share with them?"_

 _As the young boy nodded excitedly, Hiruzen spoke to the room. He could feel the excitement in the ANBU guards' chakra and was willing to grant them a bit of amusement. "You have five minutes to examine our artist's work." Almost instantly the desk was surrounded by four masked individuals in heavy tan cloaks. Naruto's blue eyes opened wide in amazement as each of his pictures was passed around the group. Several of them elicited a chuckle from the normally stoic observers and were quickly passed around for the entire squad to see._

" _Why don't you tell us where you found the pictures and why you decided to use each one, Naruto?" Sarutobi prodded the whiskered boy, who looked at the old man with questioning, unsure eyes. "It appears that Tora-san has taken a liking to the mustached face and I'm sure he'd appreciate hearing how you came across that gem."_

 _The masked face nodded and knelt to Naruto's eye level, holding out one of the newspaper clippings. The boy took the offered picture and looked at it for a minute before squeezing bright blue eyes shut as he tried to remember. "I think I got this one behind the barber shop by where the black ponytail people live." Another picture was offered, and the boy took it, growing more excited at the interest from the normally aloof guards. "This one is from the library. They get new pictures all the time and sometimes I can take the old ones, dattebayo." The blond continued with his explanations, chattering happily for the assembled ANBU agents for far longer than the allotted five minutes._

 _When Sarutobi finally cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows, the assembled agents placed the pictures into the open folder and disappeared to resume their watch. "Thank you for that interruption, Naruto. It was a welcome escape from the tedium of the mission reports I find myself reading today. What will you do for the rest of the day, my boy?"_

 _The whiskered face screwed up as Naruto pondered before a huge grin split his cheeks. "The ANBU really liked my pictures, dattebayo! Maybe the other ninja will like them too! I'll go show them."_

 _The boy raced to put on his jacket and bright red scarf but was stopped short as the Hokage's hand caught his collar. "I think, Naruto, that Kakashi enjoys his secret. He might not appreciate finding out that his little brother ruined that for him."_

 _The boy pondered for a moment before breaking into a huge smile. "Don't worry, Jiji! I'll be super sneaky, just like Kaka-nii and Pakkun-sensei showed me. No one will know it was me."_

 _The Hokage heaved a sigh, idly wondering at the ability of children to draw the completely wrong conclusion from what you told them. He pondered a moment before locking eyes with his charge. "Let's make a deal, Naruto. The first time someone catches you, I want you to stop and just show the pictures to Kakashi when he comes in tomorrow." At the blond's nod, the old man let out an internal sigh of relief and released the boy's collar. With a cheery shout, the village ward scampered out the door. Sarutobi laughed to himself after the racket had quieted; Naruto was so loud and energetic that he should fail on the first attempt. This would send him back to his apartment with only the ANBU as witnesses to_ 'Kakashi's face' _. This way, the silver-haired teen could keep his secrets until he was ready to share them._

Looking at the youth in front of him, Hiruzen felt that he may have underestimated Naruto. The boy was true to his word and would have stopped when caught, so the whiskered blond must have been sneakier than his Jiji had anticipated. Best not to make assumptions though. Taking a puff from his pipe, the old man looked over the kneeling teen again. "What has you so out of sorts, my boy?"

Kakashi shook his head for a second before he seemed to regain his mental equilibrium and raised his shoulders to debrief the Hokage with proper formality. "Hokage-sama, as you know, I returned from my mission last night. Early this morning, I was awakened by Maito Gai barging into my room to inform me that there were pictures of my face circulating among the village's shinobi. When we investigated, it was revealed that someone had taken pictures of me from the public record and pasted the top half of my face over a collection of magazine pages. This individual then distributed the pictures around the village where they were found and distributed through a decent portion of the village's forces. I personally investigated with Gai for several hours before reporting for my mission today. This -", the teen proffered a folder full of the offending pages, "is all the pictures I have been able to retrieve, at this point. I was unable to determine the original source of these images."

The Hokage accepted the folder with grave formality and slowly began leafing through the samples. Many were from Naruto's collection, but there were several new ones where the pictures had been cut with more finesse, indicating that at least one shinobi may have thought the idea amusing enough to make their own contributions. Setting the folder aside for a second, the old man returned his attention to the ruffled teen kneeling in front of him. "What are your conclusions from the investigation thus far, Kakashi?" It was not unreasonable to get Kakashi's unbiased assessment of the situation before the older boy was informed of any Uzumaki involvement. That didn't make it easy to maintain a straight face, however.

Kakashi pondered for a moment before presenting his observations to his superior. "The designs seem to fall into two skill categories, indicating more than one perpetrator. The bulk of the pictures demonstrate much less finesse in the cutting and pasting of the pictures. The sheer number of these indicates that they were probably the work of the first 'artist'. Several are precisely cut out and applied: likely derivative work from some of my colleagues who decided they wanted to participate in this little prank. The rough-cut pages indicate someone with relatively poor hand-eye coordination, but I talked to several Jōnin, including Asuma, who claimed that the pictures simply appeared in various locations throughout the village while shinobi were present. Even though they wouldn't have been paying much attention while off duty and in the village, I still find it surprising that none of them would have noticed the perpetrator."

Hearing this, Sarutobi broke out into a chuckle that instantly quieted Kakashi and drew an inquiring stare from the single visible eye on the masked face. Leaning back in his chair, the old man took a deep breath from his pipe as he picked up the folder and began idly perusing the pictures there. "I think this one was Naruto's favorite." The old man chuckled at the incredulous expression on the prodigy's face. "He quite enjoys the idea of you with buck teeth and seemed quite excited to find a picture that allowed him to demonstrate what he imagined. Yes, Kakashi, Naruto is the perpetrator of this 'plot' against the mystique of your mask." The monkey summoner chuckled to himself as he saw Kakashi processing the implications of that development. "Two days ago, he asked me if I knew why you elect to hide your face. I admitted that I do not, and we made a game out of imagining why you might choose to do so. The answer that Naruto came up with is that you are in some way disfigured or ashamed of your face." Kakashi's face took on as affronted an expression as it was possible to convey with roughly three quarters of the surface area covered by fabric. "Not having any distinct reason to reject his idea, I acknowledged that it was a possible answer to his question. I then suggested he draw a picture of what he thought your face looked like, but he, instead, asked for photographs of you. He seemed confident and I found my curiosity piqued, so I shared all non-classified records and yesterday he returned with a folder very similar to this one here. He found the ANBU guards to be a most receptive audience and decided to share his work with the entire shinobi corps."

At that declaration, the young teen threw an accusatory glare at his supervisor before catching himself. "Hokage-sama, why would you allow him to spread these images? You must have known that I would only hear of this through third-hand sources."

Hiruzen sighed, "I cautioned that you might not appreciate these pictures being shared with the wider public and offered what I thought to be a very safe compromise. The first time he was caught in the act of delivering or sharing the pictures, he would not distribute any more, return to his house, and show you the rest today when you went to collect him. I trust Naruto to keep his side of the bargain, so he must have been able to deliver every single picture he created without anyone being the wiser for it. His success is a credit to the quality of his instructors. You and Pakkun should be proud."

Kakashi sat pondering before locking gazes with his village leader. "Hokage-sama, thank you for sharing this with me. If I may, I will take my leave and begin my mission as Naruto's guard. I'd also like to take the pictures with me as well."

The Hokage nodded his acceptance and waved the silver-haired youth out the door. "Go commend your little brother for his ingenuity, Kakashi. He demonstrated exceptional cleverness and skill these past several days, both in creating these pictures and in distributing them."

Kakashi could only nod as he stood, collected the folder offered by the wrinkled hand, and went to go find his favorite mischievous blond.


	6. Chapter 6

"How is your lunch, Naruto?"

The whiskered blond looked up from his cup ramen, noodles hanging from bulging cheeks. When blue eyes caught sight of the silver-haired guest standing in the doorway between the main room of the small apartment and the bedroom, the blond swallowed his entire mouthful and shoveled the rest of the cup into his mouth before leaping from a rickety chair and squeezing the Jōnin as tightly as four-year-old arms could manage. "Kaka-nii!" Despite the little bits of noodle leaking from overstuffed cheeks, Naruto still managed to speak clearly enough for the teen to understand his garbled exclamation. "I've missed you, 'ttebayo!"

A gloved hand petted Naruto's golden hair awkwardly, but the small boy held tight until he heard Kakashi's voice. "You know, Naruto, I hear you've been quite busy playing a prank on me over these past several days."

Blue eyes craned up to catch a glimpse of the masked face. Kakashi heaved a mental sigh of relief when Naruto swallowed his mouthful before responding. "Whadaya mean, Kaka-nii? What's a prank?"

A solitary eyebrow disappeared into Kakashi's gravity-defying hair and the teen answered slowly. "A prank is like a trick you play on someone. You do something that surprises them or make them do something you think is funny." A creased forehead broadcast the young boy's confusion, so Kakashi mentally cast about for an appropriate example. "What's your least favorite color, Naruto?"

The apparent shift in conversation topic did little to ease the young boy's confusion. "What? What's colors got to do with it, Kaka-nii? And why's it gotta be a color I don't like?"

Kakashi shook his head, trying to organize and simplify his thoughts to explain the idea to his charge in a way that the four-year-old could understand. "I'm trying to think of an example of a prank for you. One prank that I remember hearing about when I was younger was to take all of someone's regular clothes and hide them. Then, the only clothes left for the person who was pranked was an outfit in a color they didn't like, preferably something brightly colored so everyone would see. So, if I were pulling this prank on you, I might take all your clothes and replace them with a bright pink outfit. That way, you'd have to wear the color you didn't like as you went and looked for where I hid your regular outfits."

The small face lit up in comprehension before Naruto's brow scrunched in though. "But Kaka-nii," the boy drew the address out as he worked his thought to its conclusion. "I don't know where you live. And I don't know what color you don't like. I can't do a prank on you. Did someone change your clothes?" Big, blue eyes inspected the older boy quizzically, clearly trying to identify what was different with the Jōnin's outfit.

Again, the last Hatake shook his head, mentally berating himself for failing to communicate the idea clearly. "No, Naruto, a prank doesn't have to be changing someone's clothing. A prank can be anything, like a trick or a trap. The important thing is that it makes the person who is being pranked do something amusing. The prank you played on me..." here the older boy gestured to Naruto's table, where an open folder had joined the empty ramen cup. The blond walked over, and blue eyes grew wide as the boy recognized the contents of the folder. "Was to make and leave these pictures around the village so that no one knew where they came from. I spent all morning trying to figure out who made these. Hokage-sama ended up telling me about how you were the one to make these pictures and how stealthily you left the pictures; so that no one noticed where they came from." Remembering Sarutobi's admonition to praise the rowdy blond, Kakashi commented, "It was very well done."

A blinding white smile exploded on Naruto's face, stretching whiskered cheeks so tight that suspiciously shiny sapphire eyes were (Naruto thought) mercifully hidden from the too-kind adult. Suddenly, the ANBU agent felt his own cheeks stretching in response, quite without his permission or intent, until the single black eye he allowed the world to see was forced closed by the grin that his mask kept mercifully hidden. After several seconds, Kakashi's smile receded enough that he could open his uncovered eye. When he did, what he found was a wide-eyed Naruto, small mouth hanging wide open.

Pudgy little fingers raised and pointed at Kakashi. "You smiled, Kaka-nii! Jiji said you haven't smiled in a really long time. I saw it, dattebayo! I saw it though your mask!"

 _Blast! The boy was too observant for Kakashi's liking._ Mentally resolving to address that deficiency of his mask later, Kakashi elected to use two of his favorite methods to conceal his own emotional state from others: denial and distraction. Coming up and pointing to the pictures on the table, he drew the blond's attention by moving several pictures to show the additions provided by those shinobi either enterprising or bored enough to do more than get a laugh from Naruto's initial cutouts. "I don't know what you're talking about, Naruto. As I was starting to tell you, these pictures are from some of my comrades who liked your work enough to try to copy it. This one is from Hokage-sama's son, Sarutobi Asuma. These four are from a particularly eccentric kunoichi named Mitarashi Anko. I think these…" With each explanation, Kakashi passed the appropriate picture to the little boy. Asuma's picture featured Kakashi's face on the torso of a particularly rotund Fire country noble, while those he shared from Anko were the least offensive images from a collection of over a dozen the young woman had put together. Kakashi had decided that the contributions for his peers lacked the creative flair of Naruto's original creations, but the boy inspected each of them carefully nonetheless. Apparently, he would miss no possible insights about the nature of his older brother's face.

When they finished the entire stack, shining blue eyes turned up to inspect Kakashi's mask. Naruto chewed his lip for a second before his head tilted to the side. "Kaka-nii," he asked slowly, "Why did all of the ninjas want to see my pictures so bad? They were fun to make, but they weren't really your face. Even when I first showed them to Jiji in his office, all of the ANBU really wanted to see my pictures."

Kakashi cocked his head to the side, internally debating how much to tell his blond charge. With a mental shrug, the young prodigy decided that he was skilled enough to almost effortlessly circumvent any attempts Naruto made to 'get in on the fun', at least for the foreseeable future. The truth it was, then. "Well, Naruto, you remember how Hokage-sama told you that no one had seen my face since the Yondaime, right?" A nod of the golden head was enough confirmation for Kakashi to continue his explanation. "I've worn something over my face for my entire life, but some of my peers have decided that they aren't willing to respect my privacy. They try very hard to see what is under my mask. Sometimes they set traps for me that I then figure out how to overcome. Some of them have even offered money in exchange for pictures of my face. I imagine that when they heard that someone had 'pictures of Kakashi's face', they thought someone had succeeded in taking a picture of my real face."

Naruto frowned as he pondered this idea. "They're not being' nice to you, Kaka-nii. If you don't want your friends to see your face, they should stop tryin' to see it. You should tell Jiji. He can make all of them stop tryin' to see your face."

For a moment Kakashi said nothing. The silver-haired youth had expected his energetic companion to join in on the fun, so to have the mischief of his peers denounced was quite surprising for the young prodigy. Belatedly, he realized that shining azure eyes were looking up at him; seeking confirmation of the boy's statement. "Well, Naruto, I don't think Hokage-sama would be inclined to intervene on my behalf. Part of being Hokage means that he can't do everything. He must trust the people around him to take care of small things, so he can worry about big, important things. He trusts me to be able to take care of myself and, until the traps keep me from being able to do missions, he won't interfere. Besides, I use it as an opportunity for ninja training. I set traps and figure out how to trick the people who try to see my face." Idly, the masked teen considered the irony that he got more effective training in trap design, construction, detection, and avoidance from this game his peers insisted on than any of the official ANBU training courses. Ah well, that was a consideration for another time. Especially given how Naruto seemed to be swelling with excitement at his last comment.

"It helps you be an awesome ninja, Kaka-nii!? Can I try too? I'm gonna be Hokage, so I need to be a super awesome ninja, just like you and Jiji and Daddy." Sarutobi had given Naruto permission to call the Yondaime his father around Kakashi, which the blond had been only too glad to do, eager to share everything with the silver-haired teen. "Ninja are so cool, dattebayo!" Naruto bounced out of his seat as he imagined himself being attacked by dozens of enemies all robed in black. With a whoosh of breath, he held out his hand, imagining ropes springing from hidden positions throughout the room to catch the entire squadron in a hanging net. With his enemies vanquished, the whiskered grin turned to the table to see his brother watching intently. The mask covered too much of Kaka-nii's face to see, but Naruto got the distinct impression his older brother was enjoying himself, especially since his eye was starting to curve closed just like it had earlier, when Kaka-nii smiled, _no matter how much he said he didn't, dattebayo_!

Kakashi did find himself fighting back a grin, but his focus had been hijacked as he planned a basic traps course for his enthusiastic companion. The teen lifted his hands, crossed his fingers, and, in a puff of smoke, another Kakashi sat in Naruto's abandoned chair. The new figure stood quickly and disappeared from the kitchen in the flicker of air characteristic of Kakashi's Shunshin. Kakashi felt a warm glow in his chest when he noticed Naruto's awed face. Apparently, the boy had yet to be introduced to idea of clones. "That was something called a Kage Bunshin, Naruto. It's an example of a jutsu that lets a ninja make a copy of themselves, so they can be in two places at once. The Kage Bunshin no Jutsu is a very difficult technique, so you shouldn't try it. I made a clone to go set up a trap course for you on our training field. In the meantime, I want you to show me how much progress you've made in making the leaf stick to your forehead and we'll get dressed to go outside in the cold."

"Hai, Kaka-nii!" The blond nodded enthusiastically and rushed into his room, returning within moments with several bright green leaves clutched in little fingers. "Here, Kaka-nii! Yūki-san had a couple of leaves he shared with us." The last Uzumaki plopped into the chair and dropped all but one of the leaves on the table. As Naruto tilted his head back and carefully placed the leaf exactly in the center of his forehead, Kakashi settled in to watch the rambunctious blond. They would spend an hour working on this before Kakashi bundled the boy snugly in the winter clothing Sandaime-sama had purchased for the whiskered ball of energy and took him outside for the traps course. Hopefully it would be a quiet end to a very stressful day. "Oh, I have an idea, Kaka-nii. For a prank we can do together."

Or not.

* * *

"What are you doing here, Kakashi? I thought you had a mission you needed to run off to."

Kakashi's clone looked up from the tripwire he was deftly connecting to the rope net hanging overhead. In front of him stood a crowd of his peers, grinning stupidly (in the clone's eyes, at least). As the clone considered how to answer the query without raising more awkward, uncomfortable questions, the tall, stocky ninja with messy black hair and the beginning scruff of what might one day be a respectable beard continued, somehow managing not to drop the smoldering cigarette dangling from between his lips. "Come on, Kakashi, what's up with all this?" The large hands gestured to the training field where an assortment of poorly concealed snares and pit traps littered the ground. "What part of being an ANBU means you have to set up traps that even an academy student can avoid?"

The clone glared, though the look held far less venom than the original might have been able to generate. The vague notion that he might have feathers clinging to his clothing countered the indignation that might have been channeled into the glare. "First, Asuma, I'm a clone. The original made me to set this up, so that's what I'm doing. Second, the mission is a bodyguard detail. The kid wants to be a ninja, but he's only four, so this needs to be easier than an academy student can handle. If he completes this course easily, I can move to harder challenges." The clone counted off his reasons on his fingers, but he stopped when he noticed the wide eyes of his age-mates.

"He actually talked. Wow, either your clones have nowhere near the self-control of the original or something's got Kakashi loosened up." That comment was accompanied by a wry smirk from a bandanna-ed teen with a senbon jutting out of his mouth. "Given that, as far as jutsu theory and practice goes, he's always Mr. Perfect, I guess it's got to be the latter. Didn't know anyone could break our scarecrow out of his shell, though. What do you guys think?"

Before the other three could chime in with their thoughts, the clone cut them off. "Yes, you're all hilarious. Especially Genma." The clone could perform a perfect rendition of Kakashi's unamused and unimpressed face, at least. "Now go away. I just finished, so I'm going to dispel." With a puff of smoke, the clone vanished, leaving the crowd of young adults blinking in surprise.

It was the dark-haired young woman whose torso was wrapped in bandages that spoke first. "Well, come on then." She turned to leave the training ground and waved for the rest of the group to follow. "Let's get out of here before Kakashi gets here with his charge."

"Kurenai, where are you going?" The young woman paused and looked back, red eyes narrowed in confusion. "We can't miss out on this opportunity to watch Kakashi get mauled by a little kid. You know how awkward he is. It'll be absolutely hilarious." The grin on Genma's face as he made his case was slowly mirrored by the rest of the circle as they also realized exactly what it meant for their socially maladjusted comrade to be forced into extended contact with someone who wouldn't understand his aloof nature and sometimes rude coping mechanisms.

"Besides," here the last teen, his face scarred and puckered from a childhood accident trying to copy the Uchiha's Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu, spoke up. "We ought to be on hand to make sure that he doesn't traumatize the kid too much. It'd be bad for the village if he screwed up relations with whichever noble decided he needed to hire Sharingan no Kakashi to watch his kid for the day."

"Raidō's right. Kakashi may be a good shinobi, but he never had great social skills and he's gotten worse since Yondaime-sama passed away." Asuma's comment soured the mood and the group took a moment of silence before he continued. "It's our job as his friends to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't screw this up."

Looking around, dark eyes noted the solemn faces and nodding heads before Genma joined in again, a wicked gleam in his eye. "Does anyone want to go get Gai?"

Kurenai turned startled eyes on the Special Jōnin. "You really enjoy antagonizing him, don't you? Do you want to go get Anko while you're at it? It's not like we'd be able to be discrete with either one of them around. Besides, didn't Gai just get back in from a mission? You should let him rest."

"Spoilsport." Genma muttered under his breath before nodding. "I guess you're right. Well, where do you lot want to watch from?"

The small group looked around for several seconds before Raidō pointed to a corner of the training ground where the trees' foliage was dense enough for them to hide. The group made their way across the training ground and leapt into the branches where they settled in to wait.

The four made conversation among themselves for several minutes before Kurenai sensed a pair of chakra signatures approaching. She quickly quieted the group and they settled into their chosen observation posts. Within minutes they began to hear a child's young voice, ringing loud with excitement, cut through the trees. "…and then Konohamaru threw up all over Jiji's lap. It was gross and smelled really bad. Hideko-san said she was sorry so many times. An' then, you know what Jiji did? He laughed, dattebayo! He told her that the Hokage has to put his family in front of everything, even his robes. An' since the whole village is his family, that means he has to put the whole village in front of everything, dattebayo! And when I'm Hokage, the whole village is gonna be my family too!"

The group watched in amazement as a blond head bounced into view, circling around the much more sedate figure of Kakashi, who strode into the training ground with an air of contentment that left the observers speechless. That contentment disappeared as soon as Kakashi stepped onto the training ground proper. The teen's posture stiffened, and he began looking around furtively. After several seconds, the lone, black eye focused on the tract of trees where the watching teenagers sat. All four unconsciously held their breath until the silver-haired teen glared at their hiding places. Then, much to their collective surprise, their prickly friend shrugged and turned back to his charge. The concealed group breathed a collective sigh of relief, which was interrupted a second later as the blond child bouncing around Kakashi saw the training field.

"Wow, Kaka-nii, there's cool stuff all over. Your clone did a lot while we were getting' ready to go." The beaming smile that was offered to Kakashi as praise was not enough to distract the whiskered blond from the training field and the muffled cry that had erupted from the dense thicket of trees and the blond whirled around blue eyes dancing over the entire field. "Someone's here, 'ttebayo!"

Kakashi sighed wistfully to himself before he responded. "Yes, Naruto. Someone _is_ here. Some of the ninja who decided to mimic your artwork are going to help us today. They're hiding somewhere close by. Do you think you can find them?"

Though he would never admit it to them, the silver-haired Jōnin was immensely gratified at the way he felt the four chakra signatures unveil themselves and separate around the perimeter of the clearing. Nodding his enthusiasm, Naruto's face set in a determined frown and he looked curiously around the open field. "It's like when we play with Pakkun-sensei, right Kaka-nii? Only instead of hiding', I gotta think of all the ways to look for someone, dattebayo."

"That's exactly right, Naruto. I'll even summon Pakkun and you can work with him to find all the ninja hiding around here. Then we can learn about traps." With that, Kakashi pulled out a kunai and cut his finger before running through the hand seals at dizzying speeds and slamming his hand on the ground. When the smoke from the summoning disappeared, the young teen greeted the new arrival. "Pakkun, we're Naruto's protective detail today. As you can doubtless smell, we have some visitors. Can you help him to find all of them?"

The small pug took a deep whiff of the air before directing a knowing grin at his partner. "Yeah, I smell them, Kakashi." With a mighty leap the dog landed on top of Naruto's head and latched onto it. "Okay, kiddo. Let's get this started. I smell four other people in the area, but I'm not going to point you to them. You have to find them all on your own."

Naruto nodded seriously, and the motion upset his passenger. The pug landed on all fours and scowled up at the boy. The blond grinned unrepentantly before his face settled back to a focused calm. "What do I do, Pakkun-sensei?"

Pakkun's grin was toothy and vicious. "Well kid, we're going to learn how to track and hunt."

* * *

"Well, Naruto, you've managed to catch the spies, congratulations."

It had taken the rest of the afternoon and into the evening for Naruto to track down the intruders. With each ninja caught, the others had hidden a bit more effectively and tried to lure their pursuer into the traps scattered around the field. Each time Naruto was caught in a trap, Kakashi explained how to see and avoid the traps while helping free the blond typhoon and resetting the hazard. Blue eyes had been wide and attentive as Naruto watched the reassembly of each contraption. As the afternoon wore on, Kakashi began to wonder if Naruto was letting himself trigger the traps on purpose. At least once, the silver-haired prodigy had watched the boy look directly at a rope trap, visually trace from the trigger to the branch where he would end up dangling, and then step directly on the trigger. In those cases, Kakashi felt little need to do more than help Naruto get free as the boy smiled sheepishly. Eventually though, the whiskered boy had found all four of the ninja scattered throughout the clearing.

"I… did it … Kaka-nii!" Naruto panted as he flopped down under a tree. "Thanks for your help, Pakkun-sensei," the boy murmured as the small pug walked over and nudged his way between the small arms.

"No problem, gaki." As Pakkun's gruff voice rumbled through the air, Naruto lost his fight against unconsciousness and drifted off to sleep. The dog yawned contentedly and looked over at his summoner. "I'm going to sleep with him until your chakra runs out, Kakashi. Make sure he doesn't spend too long on the ground before you take him to bed. And wake him up to eat something. The kid hasn't had anything since ramen for lunch today."

Kakashi glared at the small pug who grinned toothily and closed his eyes, falling asleep in the little boy's grip. Then, with a deep sigh, the Jōnin turned to regard his peers, who had somehow managed to avoid making a huge scene in front of Naruto. As it was, Genma's grin was entirely too large, while Kurenai looked thoughtful and pleased. Asuma and Raidō just looked smug. Letting out another sigh, Kakashi decided that he wouldn't be able to avoid this conversation. "So, well done to all of you for picking up on my hint about hiding there. I think it was a fun afternoon for him."

"No problem." Genma looked over the sleeping form and smiled. "I have to say though, we didn't think anything could break you, Kakashi. But, he's a cute kid, despite all of the…" A vague gesture to his own unmarked cheeks removed any doubt what the Special Jōnin meant. "Still, I want to hear how you two got so close."

"Hokage-sama decided that I needed a break." Kakashi shared, deciding to omit the specifics of his initial opposition to the idea. He couldn't explain his aversion without divulging state secrets, after all. "He assigned me a shift as part of Naruto's bodyguard detail several months ago. It's standard procedure that guards introduce themselves to him during their first shift so that he knows them a bit and will listen if they tell him to do something. I wasn't sure how to handle things, so I summoned Pakkun for him to play with. Hokage-sama even let me unmask and introduce myself to him. It went well and he kind of took to me." All four of Kakashi's companions noticed the hesitant pride that accompanied their troubled friend's last comment but decided against mentioning it to avoid ruining whatever atmosphere had brought about the masked teen's willingness to share. Kakashi shrugged before continuing with his explanation. "Since then, whenever I finish an extended mission, Hokage-sama assigns me a day or two with him. We've worked on stealth, survival skills, and some chakra control. I think he's got some potential as a sensor too, but that's a long way off." Explanation finished, he turned a hard look at his age-mates. "Now, would one of you like to tell me why you were spying on us? My clone told you to leave."

"Oh no," Genma interrupted his companion. "You don't get off that easily, _Kaka-nii_. No way does the kid address his entire detail that familiarly, even if he does know all their names. He might make up fun little nicknames for everyone he meets, and even for people he's never met who should be treated with respect," here Genma's voice dropped to a mutter before continuing at his normal volume. "But I'd bet money that no one else gets to be his big brother the first time they meet him."

"Ah come on, Sleepy-san. Just because Kakashi got a better name than you did is no reason to be bitter with him. It's your own fault that you were the first one caught." Asuma's face bore a wry smirk as he took a golden opportunity to heckle the most sarcastic of the assembled ninja.

"I yawned. Once. And the kid somehow heard it and zeroed in on me. If I didn't know better, I'd say one of you tipped him off. Kakashi's no fun, so he wouldn't even think to spoil it like that and I can catch the rest of you." Genma's response was a bit sullen; he had been caught nearly a full hour before anyone else and it had been so _boring_ sitting on the side with Kakashi. The fact that Naruto had continued to make comments suggesting 'Sleepy-san' should take a nap throughout the afternoon probably didn't help matters.

Both Asuma and Raidō squawked indignantly and leapt at their still griping comrade. Kurenai sighed, shook her head, and ran through a set of hand signs. The noise from the brawling teens dampened to nothing as the young woman's genjutsu took effect. Turning to her masked comrade, she tried to follow Genma's vein of questioning slightly more gently. "He does seem quite fond of you, Kakashi. It's a surprise to us that you'd willingly go along with it, given how little you interact with us, or anyone for that matter. And I'm still having a tough time believing that _you_ asked to unmask for him."

The single eye looked over at the sleeping blond beneath the tree, internally debating how much to tell Kurenai. "The first day he tried to hide from us; thought it was a fun game. Pakkun and I let him have several minutes head-start, but then we heard him yell. Some kids had found him and started harassing him. They told him that no one wanted to play with him. That he was a monster and that Hokage-sama assigned the ANBU guard to keep the villagers safe from him." The masked face looked back to Kurenai and found that Asuma and Raidō had managed to satisfy their frustration with Genma and all three had rejoined her while Kakashi told his story. "He asked if it was true. And I- I had to tell him something. He has nothing. No one. And Sensei did that to him. I know he did it for the village, but this kid has nothing." The young teen lapsed into mournful silence while his companions looked between their friend and the sleeping boy.

"Dad's told me about how he comes to the tower, sometimes." Asuma offered, popping a new cigarette out of his pack. "Hideko's mentioned how he sometimes helps with Konohamaru-chan too. Does everything he can to help take care of the baby. You're right, though. He's all alone. Dad doesn't have the time and Ko-chan's only two months old. From what I saw today, I can tell he's a good kid. So, I guess given what you said, I can understand why you asked and why Dad let you unmask for him."

Kurenai nodded, picking up the story from there. "He calls Hokage-sama, Jiji, so there's obviously a lot of affection there. Did Hokage-sama explain why it was so significant that you did that? And that's why he's adopted you as his brother?"

The look Kakashi directed at her was full of more emotion, all of it self-loathing, than any of the young adults had realized he retained the capacity for. "I wish I was that brave. I unmasked for him. Then I told him who I am." Seeing his peers exchange confused looks, Kakashi realized he'd need to spell it out for them. "I told him about my father. And Obito. Rin. Sensei." Kurenai's sharp gasp and the others' suddenly stony faces said they now understood exactly what he meant. "I told him that I didn't want to hurt him, so I couldn't be part of his guard detail anymore. He decided that I was going to be his brother instead."

Raidō whistled low at that comment. "Dang, Kakashi. Never known you to get beaten like that, let alone by a four-year-old. I get why you gave in, though. Yondaime-sama's not around to take care of the kid, so it's your job as his last surviving student. Something like that, right?"

The masked teen shrugged half-heartedly but was saved from further conversation by the puff of smoke that accompanied Pakkun's disappearance. "That's my signal," Kakashi gestured over to where a bleary-eyed Naruto had woken suddenly and was looking around in confusion. "I need to get him dinner and then put him to bed." The crowd of five ninja strode over to the tree and Kakashi leaned down to help his young charge up. "Come on Naruto. We need to go get you some food. Then it's off to bed."

"Not yet, Kaka-nii," Naruto mumbled as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "We gotta say bye to your friends." The little boy stretched, small mouth stretched in a tremendous yawn. Then, shaking his head to clear any remains cobwebs, bright blue eyes fixed on the bemused faces of the ninja circled around him. "Thanks for playin' with us ninja-san. I had a ton of fun finding you all."

"Oi, Kakashi," Genma cut out as the pair made to turn away. "I don't want to be Sleepy-san to the kid. You need to introduce us."

Seeing his peers nodding in agreement, Kakashi and Naruto turned back around to rejoin the circle. "I guess we can do that. Naruto meet Sarutobi Asuma, Yūhi Kurenai, Namiashi Raidō, and Shiranui Genma. Everyone, I'd like to introduce Uzumaki Naruto." With each name, Kakashi's gloved hand gestured to the appropriate individual, finishing with a flourish to introduce the youngest member of the circle.

Naruto grinned broadly. "I'm gonna be Hokage one day, 'ttebayo!" Then, the blond's face screwed up in excitement and he pointed at the collected group. "Asuma-san… You're the people who made more pictures of Kaka-nii!"

At four faces lit up in realization. "That was you?!" Genma stared at the little blond who threw his chest out in proud response. "Oh man, that was hilarious. We had a blast hunting for pictures that could fit Kakashi's face."

"Yes, you all missed a four-year-old sneaking around to deliver those cutouts. You should feel so proud." Kakashi's deadpan comment did very little to deter his grinning comrades.

Naruto bounced over to Kakashi's side, grinning broadly. "Can we show them, Kaka-nii? Please?" Huge blue eyes looked up at the masked face. Almost before the question was out of Naruto's mouth, the older boy shushed his blond companion

"Show us what, Kakashi?" Genma asked, picking up on his friend's reaction to the seemingly innocent question.

"Nothing. He likes to make up stories. Don't pay him any mind." Kakashi's response did nothing to dampen the other teens' curiosity.

"I don't know that I believe that," interjected Asuma. "Dad's told me how Naruto-kun always tells the truth and keeps his promises." Kneeling to the blond's eye level, the young smoker addressed the giggling blond directly. "Naruto-kun, your Jiji is my father and Konohamaru-chan is my nephew. So, I'm kind of like your uncle. What is it you want to show us?"

Giggling, the blond leaned in close so that whiskered cheeks were tickled by Asuma's stubble. "He let me take a picture of what's under his mask," Naruto's whisper was soft enough that Asuma was certain he had misheard. Pulling his head back, he looked sharply at the boy who pulled a wrinkled envelope from inside his jacket.

"Hold him!" Asuma's voice barked out as he leapt to grab Kakashi and hold the masked teen tightly. Not understanding, but willing to play along, the other three teens leapt to grab their masked friend. Once Kakashi had stopped struggling, Asuma turned back to Naruto who was almost vibrating with excitement. "Naruto-kun, can you show us your picture?"

The blond nodded eagerly and started opening the envelope. Pulling out the picture, he walked over to the mass of limbs. "Beneath Kaka-nii's mask..." he began. Kurenai, Genma and Raidō stiffened to attention at that. Slowly the blond turned the picture around. "Is another mask!"

In their arms, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

"That was so funny, Kaka-nii!"

Naruto lay on his bed later that evening: exhausted, full, and content. After showing the four teens his picture, Naruto had been whisked away by the real Kakashi before any of them could react. The pair had fled to Ichiraku Ramen for dinner, where the stand's number one customer had tried to repeat his prank on its owner. However, without Kakashi playing along and with the whiskered boy laughing so hard that he failed the delivery, the ramen chef quickly dismissed any of Naruto's claims. The old man did join his favorite blond in laughing about how the other ninja had been fooled, though.

Now, Kakashi sat at Naruto's kitchen table while the boy bounced to the bathroom and started brushing his teeth before bed. "It was a clever idea to trick them, Naruto. Of course, now I won't be able to interact with them for a month. But, I guess I wasn't really planning to interact with them anytime soon anyway. I need to leave tomorrow for another mission."

Naruto spit out his mouthful of toothpaste before looking mournfully at his adoptive brother. "You're leaving again? Already? But I only got to see you just for today, dattebayo. When are you coming' back?"

Flinching at the pained look, Kakashi replied slowly. "This will probably be a mission that takes several months, Naruto. Lately, Hokage-sama has kept me close to the village, only going out on missions that will take a week or two. The next mission might take as long as six months. I don't think I'll be able to attend your first day of the civilian academy. I'm sure Hokage-sama will take you, though."

The blond frowned as he donned his sleeping cap and slipped under the covers of his bed. Tired from all the fun he'd had, the little boy's right hand began rubbing his eyelashes, fighting his body for a little more time with Kaka-nii. "Come back, though, okay, Kaka-nii. Will you come back to Konoha to see me when your mission's done?"

Kakashi nodded absently. "Hokage-sama will probably have me take several shorter missions when I get back, so we can do more training activities, like we did today."

A big, tired grin split Naruto's face at that comment. "That's great, dattebayo! I had so much fun with you today. I 'specially liked how you helped me with the prank, Kaka-nii. It was a lot better with you."

"You had a good idea, Naruto. I just provided some guidance to flesh it out." Kakashi stood up from his seat as he saw that Naruto was having trouble keeping his head off the pillow. Walking over, he settled on the foot of the bed, so he could watch the blond fall asleep.

"Thanks, Kaka-nii. It was a funny idea, but…" the whiskered face stretched wide from a huge yawn and Naruto relaxed into his bed, still stroking his right eyelash. "You're so smart for thinking' of the two masks. I just wanted to tell 'em one of my pictures looked like your real face, 'ttebayo."

"That would have probably been enough to get them to react still." Kakashi's voice grew softer as he saw that Naruto had lost his battle to stay awake. The silver-haired teen sat, watching the sleeping boy for nearly a full hour before he reached down to smooth wild locks of hair that rose, almost in protest, to exactly where they were before Kakashi's efforts. Rising, the young man turned off the lights before making a sweep through the apartment, unsealing fresh food to stock in Naruto's pantry and refrigerator.

Then, as he felt his replacement settle into position on the opposite rooftop and flare their chakra to indicate they had taken charge of the watch, Kakashi returned to Naruto's bedroom and looked down at the sleeping blond. Streams of moonlight snuck through the cracks of the blinds and illuminated the tufts of golden hair in a blue glow. Uncovering the Sharingan so that he would remember this moment with crystal clarity, the masked teen leaned down and whispered to the sleeping blond, before disappearing in a swirl of air, "Sleep tight and dream well, otouto."


	7. Chapter 7

"Wake up, Naruto. You need to get ready for your first day of school."

Bleary blue eyes cracked open to survey the blond's tiny apartment. They snapped fully open several seconds later when their owner recognized the wrinkled face smiling down at the blond. "Jiji! What're you doing here?" As the whiskered blond stretched and took in his favorite old man, his face screwed up in confusion. "Where's your clothes, Jiji?" Sarutobi's chuckle became a full-bellied laugh when, after a second's consideration, the young boy's tone assumed a measure of outrage. "Did someone do a prank on you?! We gotta go find your clothes, 'ttebayo!"

The Sandaime Hokage spread his arms wide to model his outfit to the young boy. He had traded his pristine white and red ceremonial robes for a loose-fitting, orange jacket worn over a rumpled, tan exercise outfit. Both articles of clothing had seen better days, as evidenced by their frayed hems and baggy fit. "You don't like my outfit, Naruto? I decided that, since I took this morning off to take you to your first day of school, I would wear something more casual. I don't want to take any attention from you on your big day." Kakashi had explained the story he chose to explain the concept of a prank to Naruto, so the old man had some inkling as to the boy's thought process. "I need to take more time away from my duties as Hokage if you think that is the only clothing I own."

Naruto cocked his head to the side as he pondered the old man's comment. "What? You can stop being' the Hokage, Jiji? But there's gotta be a Hokage! Who does it when you don't want to?" Suddenly, the blond realized the opportunity a vacant office presented to him. "Wait, I can do it, 'ttebayo! Let me be Hokage when you don't want to, Jiji!" In his excitement, Naruto started bouncing on his bed and waving his sleeping cap in the air.

"Calm down, Naruto." The Sandaime chuckled as he filled his pipe. "I didn't mean to say that I stop acting as the Hokage. However, it's important to regularly take time to rest, so every week I make sure to do something not related to my duties. Sometimes I write poetry or practice calligraphy; other times I eat a meal with the people I care about. This week, I decided to come have breakfast with you and then to walk you to your first day of school." The whiskered boy's eyes shone with excitement as Sarutobi continued. "After you finish with class for the day, we can get lunch and go back to the tower. You can come help me with my duties as Hokage and tell me about your first day of school. How does that sound?"

Naruto nodded vigorously. "You mean it, Jiji?" Blue eyes shone as their owner bounded forward to squeeze the old man tightly. "I can help you be Hokage?"

"I would be glad to have you as an assistant, Naruto." The Sandaime Hokage returned the hug and, after a minute, broke away to turn towards the kitchen. "Now, I think it's about time for you to get ready for the day. Why don't you get dressed, while I start cooking breakfast?"

"Okay, Jiji!" The blond jumped off the bed, throwing his sleeping cap on the rumpled covers as he dashed toward his closet, chattering happily the entire way.

As the rambunctious four-year-old went about preparing for the day, Sarutobi made his way into Naruto's small kitchen to start work on their breakfast. After several seconds digging through the refrigerator, the wrinkled face brightened as its owner found an assortment of green onions, chopped carrots, and some salted fish. Naruto apparently remembered his promise and was at least attempting to maintain a healthier diet. Though, the old man reflected, the collection of instant ramen cups scattered around the trash can suggested that the boy hadn't come close to giving up on his favorite food. Pulling out the healthier options, the village leader began to prepare breakfast.

Several minutes later, the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato surreptitiously finished scraping the charred remains of his attempt at breakfast into Naruto's trash can just before the blond emerged from the bathroom. Turning to his energetic charge, the head of the Sarutobi clan made a mental note to have the ANBU restock Naruto's refrigerator and finish cleaning the pan while the boy was in class. It wouldn't do for the blond to realize his Jiji's utter ineptitude in the kitchen. Instead, the old man smiled at the whiskered face. "On second thought, Naruto, it's a special day. Let's go out for breakfast."

* * *

"Hiya Nee-chan! Can I get a table?"

Naruto bounced from Konoha's main thoroughfare into a small teahouse. When Jiji suggested this place for breakfast, the skinny blond raced ahead to secure the pair a table for when the old man finally arrived. Blue eyes cast around as Naruto took a subtle sniff. Though eggs didn't have a strong smell, Naruto still thought there should be more of a scent, since Jiji had said the breakfast here was 'eggs-cep-shun-al'. Shrugging, the blond decided not to worry about it and settled for scanning the entire restaurant. He trusted the old man and was willing to try any kind of breakfast at least once. After several seconds of looking around and getting the odd whiff from some other patron's breakfast, the blond realized that he hadn't heard a response from the hostess.

Turning back toward her, the blond found the woman greeting a young couple who cast angry glares at him as they were shown to their seat. Naruto puzzled over the matter briefly before he realized what the woman might be expecting. When the hostess returned, the young blond bowed slightly for effect. "Sorry nee-chan, I didn't use my manners. Jiji helps me remember sometimes, but it's hard to do all the time. Can I please get a table?" The blond was surprised when he straightened and found that the hostess had walked away from the entrance to the tea house and began to clear the empty dishes from an elderly couple's table.

The blond felt his temper rising before a wrinkled hand clapped onto his shoulder. "Well Naruto, did you get us a table?"

Jiji's voice was low and soothing, but it didn't dispel the four-year-old's irritation. Looking up at the old man, Naruto pointed accusingly over at the hostess. "Jiji, she's not listening to me! I tried to get us a table. I asked with all my best manners and I bowed and everything and she still didn't listen."

A small frown crossed the old man's face before it smoothed to nothingness. Looking down at his companion, Sarutobi smiled gently. "I'll see what I can do to get us a space. Can you wait here for a second, Naruto?"

With that, the old man made his way slowly back to where the hostess was bringing a fresh pot of tea out to the waiting couple. He touched her gently on the shoulder to get her attention and caught the teapot when she started and dropped it. Returning the lacquered pottery to her grasp, he spoke softly in the young woman's ear. Naruto could recognize the moment when she realized who Jiji was, because her face lit up and she started bowing her head repeatedly, this time without upsetting the teapot in her hands.

A gentle smile grew on the Hokage's face and he gestured toward the front door, still speaking too quietly for the blond to hear. Naruto watched as her brown eyes followed the pointing finger until they settled on his whiskered face. Giving his biggest smile, the four-year-old waved merrily at the young woman. He tried to pretend that he hadn't seen the disgust that flashed across her face when she realized where Jiji was pointing.

Setting down the teapot, the woman bowed to the Sandaime and gestured toward a curtain at the back of the restaurant. As Naruto walked over to join the waiting Hokage, he saw a strange, mournful look flash over the wrinkled face when their hostess' brown eyes were downturned, only to be carefully hidden when she straightened to favor the pair with a forced smile. "This way, Hokage-sama and… guest."

Once the hostess sat the pair at the small table behind the curtain and took their breakfast orders, she retreated, dropping the curtain to separate the small alcove from the rest of the establishment. Naruto's face was screwed up in thought, but blue eyes snapped up when his Jiji's weathered hand reached over and grabbed his small, soft one.

"What's on your mind, Naruto? You're being very quiet after you were so excited this morning." Sarutobi could guess what the blond was thinking but getting Naruto to verbalize his thoughts might allow the old man to address them and salvage the morning.

The little boy worried his bottom lip for a second before he looked the old man straight in the eye, his blue eyes harder than the old man had ever seen them. "Jiji, I want you to tell me the truth, 'ttebayo. Am I dumb?"

Sarutobi floundered for a second before he regained his equilibrium and rushed to answer the boy. "Of course not, Naruto. Why would you think that? You know that both Kakashi and I regularly praise you for how clever you are. Do you think we'd lie to you?"

Naruto searched the old man's face for a second before he turned away and pouted. "I just don't get it, Jiji! People look at me like they don't want to see me. Sometimes they act like I'm not even there, dattebayo! They're mean to me when you're not with me and they don't let me play with them. You said that my birthday is the same day that the Kyūbi attacked, and that's why people don't like me. But I can't remember anyone else's birthday, Jiji! How come everyone remembers my birthday so they can be mad at me for it? It's not fair, dattebayo!"

 _Well_ , the old man thought wryly, _there goes the chance to distract him_. Sarutobi tented his fingers as he looked at his young charge, considering the situation. It was still too early to share the truth of the boy's situation, but perhaps there was an alternative approach that might work to direct his attention in the meantime. "Naruto, I want to assure you that you are not 'dumb', as you put it. You are an active learner with an agile mind. You are sly and tricky, and one day you might even be able to pull a prank that will fool your older brother. I hope, though, that you'll never resort to pulling pranks on your Jiji!" The old man was immensely gratified when Naruto looked at him, offered a small smile, and nodded in promise. "I am so proud of you, both for how hard you work and for how kind you are. Everyone in your family knows how much you care for us."

"Then why, Jiji?" Naruto's question was quiet and sad. "Why doesn't everyone else let me be part of their family? They don't let me be nice to them. They're mean before I even do anything."

For a moment, the pair sat in tense silence, then the illusion of isolation was broken as their server swept aside the curtain and brought in their breakfast. When she had swept out again, the somber atmosphere returned, only to be broken by the grumbling of Naruto's belly. The blond blushed brightly even as his hands inched toward the sweet rolls sitting on the table between the two.

Sarutobi smiled warmly at the boy, watching as three rolls disappeared into the four-year-old's mouth. "I'd like to tell you a story, Naruto. I think it might help you to understand." At the blond's nod, the old man continued. "Do you remember what a Jōnin is? And what Genin are?"

Naruto's face screwed up as little hands pressed on the sides of his head, trying to pull the answer from where it was buried. "A Jōnin is a really good ninja, right? And they teach Genin how to be ninja, 'ttebayo." The boy's voice dropped to a stage whisper. "My daddy was a Jōnin before he was Hokage and Kaka-nii is a Genin."

"Very good Naruto, I'm proud of you for remembering. One thing is not quite correct with what you said, though. Kakashi _was_ a Genin for part of his time working with the Yondaime. However, he has since improved as a ninja and is now a Jōnin." Chuckling at the boy's awestruck expression, the Sandaime continued his explanation. "After you become a ninja, you will be Genin. When you prove yourself, you can be promoted to Chūnin. The best ninja from among our Chūnin eventually become Jōnin. To make sure that our Genin are well trained, I assign Jōnin to instruct a team of three Genin. This has been the way that Konoha teaches new generations since the time of the Shodai."

Naruto's hand waved to get the old man's attention, even as the boy tried valiantly to swallow the three partially chewed sweet rolls in his mouth. After several seconds spent gulping down the milk their server had brought with the pastries, he could breathe enough to ask his question. "Jiji, what about the Hokage? Do Jōnin become the Hokage?"

The old man smiled fondly at the boy. "Well Naruto, you know that there is only one Hokage at a time, right? When the previous Hokage dies or decides to stop being Hokage, the daimyo and a group of leaders from Konoha decide together who the next Hokage will be. If the previous Hokage chose someone to succeed them, it is highly likely that person will be chosen for the role. While there is no rule that explicitly says so, the Hokage has always been chosen from the village's Jōnin."

As the boy settled down, Hiruzen told his story. "Many years ago, I taught a group of Genin, much the same way that the future Yondaime taught Kakashi's team. They grew up to be strong and powerful ninja and performed many heroic feats, which saved many lives. One of my students had a younger brother who died early in the Second Great Shinobi War. She was very sad that he died, but eventually she met another man who helped to heal her heart. He loved her, and she loved him. However, near the end of the war, the man she loved was attacked and died while she tried to save him. After the war, I let her leave the village to heal, but since she left she has never come back here. Now, why would she choose not to come home, Naruto? Why would she avoid the village?"

At the old man's question, Naruto's face turned contemplative. He grabbed another sweet roll but elected to eat this one slowly as he considered the old man's question. Watching the boy think, Sarutobi took the opportunity to pour himself a cup of tea and began eating his own roll. After several more minutes, as the sweet roll supply began to run low and the Sandaime had started worrying about ending the discussion prematurely so that Naruto could be at school on time, the whiskered boy looked back to the old man. "Is it …?" The blond's voice was hesitant, but he pressed forward with his thought nonetheless. "Did she not want to come back 'cause every time she was here she remembered them? She'd see something and remember them and then she'd be sad again, dattebayo. So, she decided to not be here, so she wouldn't be sad."

Hiruzen nodded sadly. "That's exactly what she thinks. However, it hasn't turned out that way for her and she continues to feel the pain of her loss, much like Kakashi did before you claimed him as your brother. I believe that it's only by moving forward and finding new people to treasure that we are able to overcome the pain of loss." The old man leaned over and winked at Naruto conspiratorially. "That's what I did. My wife died the night of your birth, Naruto. I was terribly sad to lose her, but I found a wonderful little boy who chose me to be his Jiji. His smile has helped me to be less sad and to remember the happy times with my Biwako." The old man inclined his head to indicate the blushing blond before continuing. "You were the only baby born the night of the Kyūbi attack, Naruto. With so many sad things to remember from that day, people don't want to be reminded."

The pair sat in silence for a moment before Sarutobi cleared his throat to get Naruto's attention. When the bright blue eyes swung up to his face, the Sandaime smiled and began to speak. "Putting the sad talk aside Naruto, there are several other issues that I wanted to discuss with you this morning. You know that you're starting at the academy, but do you know what that means?"

Naruto nodded his head, blond locks bobbing up and down vigorously. "Yeah, Jiji! I'm gonna learn how to be a ninja, dattebayo. We're gonna learn how to do awesome ninja jutsu and how to be super sneaky and fight off dragons so I can rescue a princess."

The old man chuckled merrily at the blond's enthusiasm. "Unfortunately, Naruto, you'll have to wait until at least next year before you start rescuing any princesses. First, you'll have to learn the basics. Today you're starting at the civilian academy. You're going to learn how to read, write, and count. Only after you can do those things will you be able to start on your ninja training."

"Ah, come on Jiji!" Naruto pouted at the revelation. "I don't need to know how to do that stuff, 'ttebayo. I've gotta learn how to be a ninja so I can be Hokage."

The old man raised an eyebrow at his young charge. "Oh? Then I guess you aren't interested in the puzzle that Kakashi told me he would bring back for you?"

As expected, the prospect of a treat from his older brother got Naruto's attention quite quickly. "What do you mean, Jiji? Kaka-nii didn't tell me he was bringing me anything. What is it? What's he bringing? I bet it's an awesome -"

"Calm down, Naruto." Sarutobi reached over and grabbed the boy's shoulder to forcibly calm him before the blond began shouting and disrupting the rest of the tea shop's customers. "I don't know what Kakashi is bringing for you. When I assigned him his latest mission he asked for me to tell you that he was going to be bringing you back a puzzle. Apparently, if you want to solve this puzzle you're going to need all the skills from this year at the academy."

At that comment, Naruto's face lit up. "Well come on then, Jiji! We gotta get to the academy, dattebayo! I gotta be ready for Kaka-nii's puzzle."

With a smile on his face, the old man allowed himself to be pulled from the booth. As they stopped to pay the bill, his grin widened as he noticed the remaining sweet rolls stuffed in the pocket of Naruto's pants. The blond had managed to sneak them without his Jiji noticing. The boy was going to be a wonderful ninja if he could sit through the first years of classroom instruction at the academy. _Though_ , the Sandaime mused, _perhaps he could come up with a solution to allow Naruto an answer to the question of his status as a pariah while encouraging the boy to remain attentive in the classroom._

* * *

"Did you see? It's _that boy_."

The whispers began as soon as Naruto skipped onto the school grounds for the civilian academy. Many of the parents pulled their children closer, surreptitiously creating a wall that blocked the whiskered blond from his peers. Many of the children remained oblivious, but Naruto noticed the blockade. The energetic blond's smile dimmed as he heard the whispers.

"… can't believe that Hokage-sama would allow …"

"… heard that there will be ANBU guards to make sure he stays in control …"

"… still feels like a mockery to see _that_ wearing _his_ face. I'm sure …"

"… Bunko-san's husband said that it's part of the seal. Yondaime-sama used _himself_ as a template …"

The calloused hands that clapped on Naruto's shoulders startled the blond, and he jumped before realizing who it must be and looking sheepishly at the Sandaime smiling down at him. "Sorry Jiji, I ran ahead of you. I just couldn't wait, dattebayo."

"There's nothing to apologize for, Naruto. It's wonderful to see that you are so excited for school." Taking a moment to look away from the gleaming sky-blue eyes, the old man looked around at the assembled parentage. Many of them were eying him with barely concealed shock; their conversations had dimmed to nothing when they saw him come up and join Naruto. Apparently, it hadn't passed to the village's rumor mill that their 'demon' enjoyed not only the Hokage's protection, but his affection, too.

The veteran Hokage steeled himself to forcibly insert Naruto into the group of children when the school bell rang. Instantly, the yard was a flurry of activity as children and parents lined up to see the headmistress staring from the steps of the school at the assembled crowd. It did not escape Sarutobi's notice that he and Naruto were given a wide berth within the throng.

Eventually the crowd brought itself to order and the short, rotund woman on the building's front steps began to speak, scanning the assembly from behind thick-rimmed glasses. "Good morning, students and families. My name is Tanaka Shigeko, and it is my pleasure to welcome you to another year at Konoha's Civilian Academy." The woman's voice was crisp and precise, projected over the crowd as one who expected and enjoyed the obedience of those under her charge.

Sarutobi saw her eyes settle on the pair and, in the moment where her eyes locked with his, the wrinkled woman's carefully composed face blanked to an expressionless mask. She wasn't happy to see him or Naruto here, then. Tanaka-dono had taken it as a personal affront when the Hokage had vetoed her rejection of Naruto's enrollment at the academy. The "discussion" between the two after that decision had been less than civil. Though, the old man mused, it really was her fault for not reading the application completely to see that it was the Sandaime, himself, who was sponsoring the boy. Shaking his head, Hiruzen brought himself back to the present in time to hear the old woman finish her speech by proudly referring to the assembled students as "buds, to one day become vibrant leaves on the tree that is Konoha".

As the crowd applauded respectfully, the headmistress stepped to the side as one-by-one, teachers stepped from the entryway to call their classes from the crowd. Glancing down at Naruto, Sarutobi chuckled to himself at the blond's antics. So excited was the whiskered boy that he was failing to maintain any kind of composure and stood, vibrating at the Sandaime's side. At last, all the older children had been called and the crowd had thinned so that only the first-year students remained. Naruto watched in bug-eyed excitement as a group of nearly a dozen adults stepped into view. The lady in the center had thick, brown hair and her gentle face wore a soft smile. The old man on the right almost looked asleep as his entire face sagged down to the ground. Naruto giggled to himself when he saw the liver-spotted head dip once or twice as the old gentleman fought to stay awake. It was the woman who spoke up to address the crowd. "Welcome students and families, my name is Sato Akari. Beside me are Abe Gina, Chiba Rei, Nakamura Fujio, Matsumoto Takeo, and Yoshita Sumiko." As each instructor was introduced, they stepped forward and raised a hand while smiling at the crowd. "We will be teaching this year's first-years. Would all students please come to the steps? We will break into our individual classes and move to the classroom."

Sarutobi leaned down and whispered in the boy's ear. "You'd best go, Naruto." Turning to regard the blond, he smiled at the suddenly wary look on the whiskered face. "It's okay to be nervous. Just remember to treat your teachers with respect and use the manners that you and I have worked so hard to learn. I will be here to pick you up at one o'clock when you finish for the day."

Naruto gave a quick, tight squeeze around the old man's waist before sprinting off toward the rapidly growing crowd at the steps of the school. The Sandaime watched as Sato-san pulled out a list and began to read off names. "Ando Daichi-kun" A young boy with dark brown hair raised his hand and waved it overhead. "You are in Fujio-sensei's class." As Daichi scampered to the appropriate line, the pretty brunette continued down the list. As she reached Naruto's name, sharp old eyes watched the young woman's breath hitch when she connected the name on the list with the whiskered face in the crowd. Nevertheless, she declared that Naruto was to be part of her classroom and finished sorting the rest of the students into their respective classes.

When the sorting was finished, the assembled students stood in three haphazard lines. When permission was given to wave goodbye to the assembled parentage, nearly a hundred small heads turned, and the entire mass waved to the smiling crowd with varying levels of enthusiasm. Then, without further ado, the teachers led their respective classes through the double doors and into the school building.

As Hiruzen watched Naruto's golden head disappear into the building, the old man hoped profusely that Naruto would be able to form lasting relationships in his class. The least that the excitable blond deserved was the opportunity to make friends his own age.

* * *

"Please find a seat in the classroom and then we'll get started."

Naruto's wide blue eyes roved over the room as he tried to take in every aspect of his new classroom with a healthy amount of awe. Having never been in any schoolhouse, he was entranced at the desks and the posters on the wall. The brightly colored murals drew his attention, so he didn't notice when the purple-haired girl in front of him stopped to talk with her companions. As such, the small blond walked into her and knocked her onto the ground.

"Watch where you're going, dummy!" A purple ponytail swished as the girl's small face scrunched up in rage.

"Sorry," Naruto bowed his head, just like Jiji had told him to do. "It's just so cool in here. I didn't mean to run into you. I guess I still have a lot to learn about being' a ninja. I'm Uzumaki Naruto." The whiskered boy offered a bright grin to the still fuming girl on the ground and held out his hand to pull her back to her feet.

"I didn't ask who you were. Get away from me." the girl hit the offered hand away and stood up, brushing off her skirt disdainfully. Then, raising her nose and performing an abrupt about-face, she beckoned to her two companions. "Come on, Kasumi, Fuki." The taller girls she had been talking with earlier took flanking positions around the purple head and, as one, the group marched haughtily up the steps to a seat on the back row where the leader planted herself in the center seat. As Kasumi and Fuki settled into seats on either side of their leader, all three took the opportunity to glare balefully at the blond.

At this point, the entire class had stopped to watch the altercation. Naruto grinned apologetically and hurried to a seat, eager to escape the uncomfortable scrutiny of his new peers.

Slowly, the classroom filled until every seat was occupied. When the last student took their seat, the brunette instructor stood at the front of the class and smiled at the assembled students. Naruto squirmed uncomfortably when he realized that, despite her gaze sweeping over the group several times, the young woman never looked at him directly. "Ohayō mina-san. As you may have heard before, my name is Akari-sensei and I will be your instructor until we finish our first term of school here at the academy. Then, you will have several weeks to play in the heat of the summer before we come back to new classes in the fall. I'm excited for all the wonderful things we're going to learn this term. Together, we're going to learn to read and write the hiragana and katakana alphabets. We're going to learn how to count and perform basic mathematics. We'll take a number of field-trips to important sites throughout Konoha and we'll study some of the plants and animals that live near the village."

Naruto's hand shot into the air, just as Jiji and Kaka-nii had instructed him to do when he had a question. With all the learning they were going to be doing, he was surprised that nothing had been said about chakra or ninja training.

The young woman, however, seemed not to notice Naruto's excitedly waving hand and continued with her introduction. "I expect each of you to pay attention so that you can learn the skills you will use for the rest of your life…"

As she continued explaining classroom rules and expectations, Naruto found his frustration rising. The blond had somehow managed to keep seated, but his hand waved wildly as he tried to catch the young teacher's attention. Eventually, the blond couldn't contain himself any longer. "Akari-sensei, when are we gonna learn about chakra and ninja stuff? I want to learn how to be Hokage, 'ttebayo."

What warmth had been in the woman's face disappeared as she was forced to acknowledge the blond or lose the attention of the entire class as the whiskered child screeched to get her attention. "As I just finished saying, I expect that you wait until you are called on before asking a question. I also said you should introduce yourself to the class the first time you're called on. Were you listening to what I said?"

Naruto grinned abashedly at the woman and began to rub the back of his head. "Gomen, Akari-sensei, I didn't hear that. I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I just wanted to ask –"

"If you can't pay attention when I'm speaking, you'll miss important information, Uzumaki. Now, in the future, I expect that you wait until I call on you before you ask a question. If you can't do that, you'll have to stand in the hallway as punishment." The previously warm voice was cold and hard as Akari-sensei cut across Naruto's explanation.

Feeling a bit defensive at the way that his question was being ignored, Naruto's voice lost much of whatever respectful tone it had managed to hold onto up to that point. "I had my hand up in the air to get your attention, sensei. Besides, I just wanted to ask what kind of ninja stuff we're gonna do." The blond plopped down in his seat and crossed thin limbs petulantly.

Akari-sensei glared at the blond for a brief second before she noticed another hand rising hesitantly from a seat on the left side of the classroom. "Yes? What is your question?"

The pink-haired girl seemed to shrink into herself as the attention of the entire class fell on her. "Ano, Akari-sensei, my name is Haruno Sakura. I was wondering if you could answer his question about ninja training." Here she gestured to Naruto, who perked up considerably when he realized that someone else wanted to learn about being a ninja, too.

The brunette teacher smiled gently as she tried to make eye contact, which the girl's bowed head made impossible. "Well, Sakura-chan, thank you for asking your question _correctly_. Unfortunately, we won't be doing any ninja studying this year or next." At the collective groan from the class, the young woman smiled and went to the blackboard. Quickly, deft hands drew the village's swirling leaf for the students to see. Turning back to the class, she gestured with her chalk to the board. "Who can tell me what this symbol means?" Naruto's hand shot into the air, and several of his peers also raised their hands. "Yes? What is this that I've drawn?" Akari-sensei indicated the purple-haired girl who Naruto had knocked over earlier.

The girl rose from her seat with perfect posture and answered while staring at the blackboard. "Hai, sensei. I am Kiriko Ami. That's the symbol of Konoha, sensei."'

"Very good, Ami-chan," the instructor responded. Ami preened at the teacher's praise. Returning to the board, the teacher drew two figures on either side of the village's emblem. "Now, the village is comprised of two groups of people: the ninja and the civilians. Both groups fill many roles to help the village run smoothly." The young woman then proceeded to explain how ninja offered protection to the civilians, while the civilian population ran much of the infrastructure that kept the village operational, all the while adding details to her sketches on the board. "Both ninja and civilians are important to the village, but they have different skills, right?" She turned to see that she had managed to capture the attention of her entire class. "While it is true that the two groups use very different skills, they build upon the same basic knowledge that we will learn here."

"But sensei," a beefy boy with a bulbous nose and a shaved head waved his hand from the back of the room. "My big brother said that there's kids from the clans who don't have to go to school with us. Don't they need to learn this stuff, too?"

"Please wait until you're called on and introduce yourself before you ask a question," Akari-sensei's stern gaze caused the boy to shrink into his seat. "We don't want to follow Uzumaki's example of not paying attention, do we?"

Naruto buried his head in his arms at the teacher's comment. _It wasn't his fault she hadn't called on him. He had tried to use his manners, but Akari-sensei was a meanie._

"Sorry sensei, I'm Ueno Jun. Why aren't there any kids from the clans here, sensei?" Bowing a little, Jun sat back down obviously eager to have his question answered.

"Jun-kun asks a good question. Who here knows about the clans in Konoha?" A smattering of children raised their hands. Naruto kept his down, still sulking at the earlier comment. "Konoha has a number of ninja families that are very wealthy and possess secret techniques passed down from previous generations. These families are known as clans. Hokage-sama has ordered that all children be educated for two years before they are enrolled at either the civilian or the ninja academy. However, the clans almost always choose to hire their own teachers instead of sending their children to this school. After two years, either here at our schoolhouse or with private tutors, everyone who wants to be a ninja must attend the ninja academy. Those of you who go on to study there will likely meet a number of children from the different clans."

Many hands raised to continue the discussion, but Akari-sensei ran a damp towel over the board to erase her drawings. "I'm glad you're all so excited to learn. That enthusiasm is going to serve you very well for the rest of our time together. Unfortunately, we need to leave our discussion about the ninja academy for later. There's a lot to learn before you get there. For now, we need to continue discussing our classroom rules…"

As Akari-sensei continued with her lecture, Naruto refocused his attention on what the young brunette was saying to the class. He was determined to pay attention to everything Akari-sensei said from here on out. Thus, he missed one of the other boys in class tearing small strips off the notebook sitting on the desk in front of him. The bandana-capped boy grinned and nudged his friend in the side before he rolled the paper into a small ball and flicked it at the back of Naruto's head. The small projectile soared harmlessly past the blond, but the young delinquent was not deterred. After the third attempt, the small paper pellet connected with the whiskered boy's head. Naruto flinched around, blue eyes scanning the classroom for the source of the projectile. When he caught sight of his tormenter's forced innocent face, the whiskered boy frowned, but returned his attention to the front of the classroom, lest he miss more crucial information.

This continued for several minutes, with Naruto growing progressively more irritated. When the projectiles started getting wet, Naruto lost his temper. "Stop it!" The blond stood up abruptly and whirled to face his tormenter. "I want you to stop throwing things at me!"

"Uzumaki!" Akari-sensei barked from the front of the class. "I have had to get after you once already for disrupting class. Sit down or you will have to go sit in the hall."

"But, sensei, he -" Naruto's attempt to defend himself was cut off by the curly-haired woman.

"I do not tolerate disrespect, Uzumaki." Normally warm brown eyes glared fiercely at the blond, who recoiled at the venom he observed there. "You were instructed to sit down and, having failed to do that, you must bear the consequences. Go, wait in the hallway as I finish our explanation of rules for all the students who are here to learn. I will deal with you when we get to break."

Naruto stood, shocked for a moment before he walked down the steps of the classroom to the ground floor. The blond looked back up at the rows to see his personal antagonist smirking. Cobalt eyes narrowed into a glare before Akari-sensei's command of "Now, Uzumaki!" saw the blond slouching out the door to sit in one of the chairs next to the classroom's entrance.

The heavy wooden door slammed shut behind him as Naruto sat, stewing in impotent rage. The blond's anger quickly subsided, however, as he thought back over his day. Smiling sadly to himself, a forlorn thought entered the young boy's mind. School was nowhere near as fun as Jiji had told him it would be.


	8. Chapter 8

"So, Naruto, how was your first day of school?"

The young boy paused in the middle of shoveling noodles from his third bowl of Ichiraku's signature dish into his mouth. Bright blue eyes met Hiruzen's warm greys and the blond tilted his head to the side as he considered the question. "Wraw, ghe ralke oao-"

"Naruto!" The disappointed glares of the Hokage and Teuchi were enough to cow the boy into closing his bulging mouth and trying to swallow the mouthful. "We've discussed talking with your mouth full before. It is disgusting and disrespectful, and people can't understand what you're saying. You're being very rude in Ichiraku-san's stall. He might not invite you to come back if you can't behave."

Naruto chewed furiously for several seconds before gulping down his huge mouthful. "I'm sorry Teuchi-jiisan! I promise not to do it again. Please let me come back! Your ramen's the best." Naruto plastered his arms to his sides and bowed deeply, narrowly avoiding slamming his head into the ramen stand's counter in his haste to appease the stall's owner.

The street vendor waited in silence for several seconds, arms crossed over his chest. As Naruto began to fidget, still desperately holding his bow, the older men smirked at each other. "I forgive you, Naruto," the vendor began. As shining azure eyes rose to meet him, the chef continued: "But! The next time you forget your manners in my stall, I won't serve you ramen for a week. If you forget again, you won't get any for an entire month."

Naruto audibly gulped, but vigorously nodded to demonstrate his understanding of the ultimatum. As the stand's proprietor turned back to his noodle pots and Naruto picked up his chopsticks to finish what was left of his bowl, Hiruzen repeated his question. "How was your first day of school, Naruto? What did you do?"

This time the boy slurped down the smaller bite of noodles and took a second to finish chewing before he turned back to the Sandaime, who grinned approvingly at the whiskered blond's efforts. "Well, first Akari-sensei started talking about the rules for being at school. I didn't hear them all, though. Akari-sensei told me to go sit in the hall because I wasn't following the rules." Naruto bowed his head in shame at his admission. A moment later, pleading blue eyes rose to the Hokage's wrinkled face. "But it wasn't my fault, Jiji! Honest! Somebody was throwing stuff at me, but Akari-sensei didn't see it."

Tired eyes inspected the whiskered face before Hiruzen nodded in acceptance. "I'm sorry to hear that, Naruto-kun. What happened when Akari-san let you come back into the classroom?"

The young boy's face brightened at the old man's response and Naruto continued his report. "Akari-sensei let me come back in after everyone got a snack. Then she showed us different parts of the room. There was her desk and the chalkboard and the erasers and some cool posters. She said that we have to help clean if we get in trouble."

As the blond rattled on about the classroom and the different parts of the day, Sarutobi smiled to himself. While Naruto's first day at school had been less than ideal, the young blond still seemed determined to make the most of his time in the classroom. Idly, Sarutobi wondered if he'd be able to keep Naruto's nervous energy focused, so that it didn't interfere with the boy's studies. Hopefully regular ramen trips and the promise of the prize from Kakashi when the ANBU agent returned would be enough to focus the blond for the foreseeable future.

* * *

"Thank you, Inu. You are dismissed."

The Hokage watched over steepled fingers as the young ANBU rose, bowed, and turned toward the door. When the gloved hand reached the handle, however, the masked youth turned back and regarded his leader." Sandaime-sama, does Naruto have a prank prepared for when I get back? The last surprise was a bit unpleasant and, if possible, I'd rather not have a repeat experience."

The old man grinned broadly, glad for the opportunity to shelve thoughts of Inu's report on Kiri's rising new star for later contemplation. "I'm quite sure I wouldn't be at liberty to say if I knew anything, Inu. I value Naruto's trust far too much to violate that for your convenience." The cloaked figure tensed at that statement, likely imagining and dreading what a hyperactive five-year-old might have planned for him. The Sandaime smiled as he packed his pipe and lit it with a quick flash of chakra. Taking a deep breath, the weathered patriarch regarded his soldier with a small smile. "That said, Naruto does not know when you are returning, so I doubt he'd have anything planned. He should also be busy at school for the next hour or so. You can return to your apartment without fear, Inu."

Nodding at Sarutobi's assurances, the nineteen-year-old reached up and removed his porcelain service. "As I am off duty, sir, may I take a moment of your time to ask about Naruto? How have his first several months of school been? I brought him something from my trip."

The old man smiled and gestured to the spare chair in his office, which Kakashi quickly drew up and sat in. "Ah, the puzzle you asked me to tell him about when you left?"

The silver-haired Jōnin nodded. "Naruto seems to hate sitting still, so I imagine he's having trouble paying attention in class. I thought this would be an interesting way for him to get involved with the material and, maybe, expose him to his heritage." At the pointed look from the Hokage, Kakashi rushed to qualify his statement. "I know we can't let him know the full truth just yet, but sealing would be a relatively harmless way for him to identify with the Uzumaki clan, wouldn't it?"

"That it would." The Hokage puffed on his pipe for a moment, considering. Eventually, the old man breathed out a sigh, slow and tired. A raised eyebrow from Kakashi conveyed the young man's confusion, so Sarutobi gave the young man a brief synopsis. "Naruto is falling behind academically, Kakashi. I wish I could say it differently, but that is the truth of the situation. He is regularly removed from the classroom, nominally because of his 'rowdy, disruptive behavior'. If his grades do not improve, he won't pass this year. I believe the lack of focus and behavior problems stem from a bias against him among the teaching staff but have yet to find concrete evidence of any actual neglect."

"Then why not hire a tutor for him, sir?" At the Sandaime's pause, the silver-haired prodigy posed a solution. "I'm sure that it's not so expensive as to be beyond the means of the entire village. You could call it mission pay for a long-term protection detail. And even if you couldn't do that, it's not as though he doesn't have someone with deep pockets paying for his living expenses."

Chuckling at the pointed reference to Naruto's secret benefactor, the Hokage took a deep draw from his pipe and breathed it out slowly. Relishing the calm that his vice brought him, the old man turned to regard his much younger companion. "The thought _had_ occurred to me; I even offered to Naruto to arrange for an alternative method of instruction when it became apparent that there might be some issues with the standard classroom experience. Imagine my surprise when he turned me down. He said that he wanted to be able to spend more time with his peers. Our boy reasoned that, as the future Hokage, he should start making friends with the people who will be part of his family now." The Sandaime lapsed into contemplative silence for a moment before he continued. "I agreed to allow him to remain in the civilian preparatory school for the remainder of the term. If he cannot pass his classes, though…" Taking another deep breath from his pipe, a pair of tired eyes sought Kakashi's mismatched gaze. "I find myself at a loss, Kakashi. One of the main reasons for enrolling Naruto in school was to allow him to socialize with children his own age. If he cannot do that, I fear that his time at the ninja academy will be plagued by loneliness and isolation. However, even if he learns how to make friends, if he cannot master the material, I will be forced to remove him from the school and resort to other, less holistically desirable, methods of instruction."

Kakashi stroked his mask, considering the problem. "I believe my gift might help with that, Hokage-sama." Reaching into his pouch, the young man produced a small scroll. Somewhat bashfully, he explained to the old man's raised eyebrows, "I got this idea after my first mission as Naruto's protection detail." The Sandaime snorted. Despite his initial opposition, Kakashi had benefitted so much from repeated interactions with the lively blond. This new skill set was apparently another, unforeseen outcome. Apparently unperturbed by his superior's response, the young man continued his explanation, "I decided to study sealing to honor sensei. It's been a long process, but one of the exercises I have completed is to create script responsive scrolls." The teen rolled out a small segment of the document to show a blank space tightly wrapped by Kakashi's slanted handwriting.

The room's older occupant took a moment to glance over the efforts of one of his most promising agents. "Your work bears traces of both of their influences. I'm sure that Yondaime-sama would appreciate your efforts on his behalf." Hiruzen rose from his chair and walked around the desk for a more thorough inspection of the young man's work. "I'd have to call Jiraiya for an expert evaluation, but it looks to be well done, in my humble opinion." Raising his head, the old man smiled at the masked Jōnin from under his crimson hat. "Shall we call our boy to see what he can do with it?"

Behind his mask, the young Hatake smiled. "Hokage-sama, that sounds like an excellent idea."

* * *

"Uzumaki, apparently you are to report to Hokage-sama's office after you have finished there."

Naruto looked around from scrubbing the chalkboard to see an ANBU standing at attention behind Akari- sensei, near the door of the classroom. Today had been a good day with relatively few disturbances; Akari-sensei had only threatened to throw him out once. Jiji had been hinting at a reward for good behavior, so the blond had restrained himself from putting spitballs in Ami's hair, or worms in Hibachi's bento, or any of the other things that just screamed to be done in retaliation to his classmates for how mean they were. However, despite the mental fortitude it required, Naruto's good behavior did not reduce the punishments he had already accumulated. Today was his last day of cleaning the board after last week's pepper incident with Jun's lunch, so the blond finished rubbing it down before he bowed low to his teacher. "See you on Monday, Akari-sensei," the whiskered boy chirped out as he ran to his desk to collect his books. He then ran up the stairs to the waiting ANBU, taking two or three at a time and never falling, despite giving the impression that he was only a hair's breadth away from doing so.

"Hi Tora-san! What's Jiji want?" Naruto waltzed up to his escort, school supplies spilling haphazardly from thin arms. He smiled brightly at the cloaked figure, not really expecting a reply. ANBU weren't known to be very talkative, after all.

The porcelain mask looked blankly down at the boy for a second before its owner turned and began walking out of the classroom, clearly expecting Naruto to follow. The grinning blond ran after his escort, stopping every few feet to recollect a pencil or notebook that had spilled from his arms. Eventually, Tora appeared to run out of patience, as the cloaked agent stopped and collected the overflowing pile into a neat stack, which was handed back to Naruto. "It would be helpful to collect your belongings neatly before we started moving, Naruto-kun."

The whiskered blond happily accepted the stack back and resumed trotting at Tora's side. The pair walked through town, Naruto loudly narrating his day and his ANBU escort responding only with the barest of gestures. Apparently, the morning had started with a test to write several of the newer hiragana symbols, which Naruto had barely passed after staying up late last night to practice. During their numbers lesson, he had been forced to put up with some harassment by his classmates as he struggled to count beyond what he could keep track of on his fingers. "Ami and her band of butt-monkeys" had been chief offenders, though there were others. The day had finished with a tour of the Aburame greenhouse and apiary, which the blond had enjoyed. Apparently, the class had been joined by the Aburame heir, who was "creepy" for his monotone speech patterns, but "still pretty cool" because of his willingness to interact with the blond.

As the pair walked, a particularly strong gust of wind blew down the street, and Naruto shivered and drew his arms tighter. The late fall air was brisk, but the blond's winter jacket kept out most of the autumn chill. When they finally arrived at the Hokage's office, Tora knocked once before inclining a masked head to his charge and disappearing in a swirl of leaves. Clumsily rearranging his load to reach for the doorknob, Naruto pushed open the heavy door, shouting as he entered. "Jiji! I'm here. Tora-san said you wanted to talk to me."

"He's not the only one, Naruto. I'd like to talk with you, too." The familiar, baritone voice pulled bright blue eyes away from hunting for a place to lay the blond's schoolbooks to see windswept, silver hair perched atop a masked face.

"Kaka-nii!" Notebooks, pencils, and stray pieces of paper exploded in every direction as the blond forgot entirely about taking care of his school supplies and threw skinny arms wide open to run and hug his brother. Eventually, Naruto removed his face from the flak jacket and turned shining blue eyes to Kakashi's lone grey one. "Jiji didn't tell me you were coming back, 'ttebayo! Where were you? Did you do any awesome ninja stuff? Did you like it there? Did you miss me? Was-"

"Naruto!" The Sandaime's raised voice momentarily distracted the blond from his outburst. "I believe we've discussed asking more than one question at a time. It becomes much harder for people to answer you when you ask so many things at once."

The blond pouted under the amused scrutiny of his elders. "I know that. I was just really happy to see Kaka-nii. Besides, I know he's super smart; way smarter than Akari-sensei. I sometimes have to ask her three times before she answers my questions." The blond held up his hand and, after a moment of counting, raised three stubby fingers to emphasize his point.

While Naruto was counting, the two adults shared a meaningful look before Kakashi cleared his throat. "Well, it's still a good thing to try to only ask one question at a time. You can overwhelm someone if you ask them too many things at once." The silver-haired young man led his blond companion to the waiting chairs behind the Sandaime's desk and all three settled into a comfortable circle. When they were settled in their seats, Kakashi turned and addressed the grinning little boy across from him. "Now, let's start with one question at a time, Naruto. What do you most want to know?"

The boy pondered for a moment before a light blush stole across his face, and he began playing with the hem of his shirt. He mumbled out, "Did you miss me?" before the blush overwhelmed whiskered cheeks and he ducked to hide warm blue eyes behind his golden spikes.

Kakashi stared in surprise at the question for a second before reaching over and laying a hand on the thin shoulders. When Naruto looked up, the young man met too-blue eyes with his own steely grey gaze and replied simply, "I missed you very much." At this, Naruto's face lit up, and he ducked his head again, the blush returning in full force.

After a second, the blond raised warm eyes and asked, much more calmly than the first time, "Where did you go, Kaka-nii?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow in the Sandaime's direction; a silent question for his leader. The old man's quick nod and subsequent reach for the map stored in his desk conveyed how much the village leader was willing to allow his subordinate to disclose. Pulling Naruto's chair closer to the desk, Kakashi pointed to the aged parchment the Hokage had laid out. "I went to the Land of Water, which is located right here." A gloved hand gestured to the collection of islands on the eastern side of the map. "The Land of Water is one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, which means it is home to Kirigakure no Sato." As the blond opened his mouth to ask another question, the young prodigy preempted the question. "No, I can't tell you what I was doing there. The mission details are classified."

Naruto's small brow knit itself together in confusion. "What does that word mean, Kaka-nii? Classified?"

"Good question, Naruto. The word _classified_ means that something is a secret that only certain people can know. Sandaime-sama," Kakashi indicated the smiling Hokage, "decides what people need to know and, in this case, Uzumaki-kun, you don't."

"Ah, that's mean, Kaka-nii." Naruto turned away from the silver-haired Jōnin to pout. After a moment, though, he gave it up and turned back to the chuckling adults. "So, what _can_ you tell me, then? It's been forever since I saw you, dattebayo."

"Well…" The Jōnin reached into his equipment pouch and produced a small scroll, which he unrolled on the desk with a flourish. "I spent a good portion of my leisure time working to make this for you. It's the puzzle I told Hokage-sama about before I left. Think of it as a late birthday present."

Naruto watched as the scroll rolled open on the Hokage's desk. Scooting his chair closer, the blond's face transitioned from excited to confused to incredulous, in rapid succession. "Kaka-nii, that's homework, dattebayo! Why'd you make me homework?"

The face that Naruto turned up at Kakashi was filled with such deep betrayal that both adults had to stifle another round of chuckles. "Well, Naruto, it's not actually homework. This is an example of fūinjutsu that I made to see how much you learned while I was away. You can choose not to complete it, if you want. However, I think that you'll want the gift that's sealed away inside. Think of it as an opportunity to show me everything you learned while I was gone."

Picking up a calligraphy brush that the Sandaime has prepared precisely for this purpose, Kakashi wetted the tip and offered it to the watching blond. "What am I supposed to do with that?" Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and turned away from the adults, fully intent on descending into a spectacular sulk at the injustice being forced upon him. Kaka-nii was giving the boy homework, no matter how he tried to claim otherwise.

"Well," Kakashi answered, "I know it's an older method of writing, but I still think you ought to recognize a calligraphy brush. I wanted to show you how to unlock the prize hidden inside the scroll."

Naruto turned back to regard the pair for several seconds. Eventually, he turned to the oldest and, apparently, most trustworthy person present. "Jiji, is Kaka-nii trying to prank me so I do more homework?"

The old man grinned behind his pipe before answering the scowling blond. "While you will need to do what amounts to schoolwork to find Kakashi's gift, Naruto, he has told me what is hidden inside the scroll, and I think you'll consider it worth the effort. Besides, this can be considered special training for when you are a ninja, if you do well."

Blue eyes regarded the pair suspiciously for several seconds before Naruto shrugged, scooted his chair closer to the desk, and accepted the offered brush. "So, what do I need to do, Kaka-nii?"

"First, you need to adjust your grip. When you hold a calligraphy brush…" Kakashi instructed Naruto briefly on the grip and technique for using the writing implement before he was content that the energetic blond wouldn't destroy the brush with his first stroke. Then, pulling over a blank sheet of parchment, the masked Jōnin instructed, "Now, write your name on this piece of paper. I want to see the neatest writing you can do."

Naruto pinched his tongue between his lips, brow furrowed in a supreme act of concentration, and bent to comply, apparently having forgotten his initial opposition to the exercise. After several painstakingly focused minutes with multiple restarts, the blond drew back and wiped his forehead with the hand holding the brush, inadvertently leaving a thin line of ink across his brow. "How's that, Kaka-nii, Jiji?"

The pair of adults had been watching the boy work, a silent conversation of hand signals and body language allowing them to evaluate and discuss Naruto's performance without distracting the blond from the task at hand. It was the Sandaime who responded first. "Well, Kakashi, I don't think you'll have to worry about the sensitivity. It may take him a while, but his writing is clearly legible."

"He does have good penmanship, doesn't he?" Kakashi agreed. "Those strokes are very clean."

Naruto glowed at the praise. "I work at it every night, dattebayo! I'm gonna be the best Hokage, so I need to do good in class. Jiji said so."

"That's quite impressive, Naruto" Kakashi tapped the open scroll on the table before continued. "Now, this scroll is very special." Taking the brush from the blond, Kakashi began drawing random lines in one of the boxed regions of the scroll. Naruto's blue eye watched, enraptured, as the ink strokes disappeared seconds after they were drawn. "As I mentioned before, I used fūinjutsu to make this scroll. It's a test of everything you've been learning this year to answer the questions here and find what I've hidden inside."

Naruto accepted the brush back with reverence as blue eyes inspected the scroll. "How do I make what I write stay there, Kaka-nii?"

Kakashi gestured to the sheet. "If you complete the exercise correctly, what you've written will stay behind. The seals I've prepared with this scroll will recognize when you've answered correctly." Gloved hands completely unrolled the scroll to show what waited at the end: a small circle boxed dozens of times by tiny script. "Every time you successfully complete an exercise, one of the boxes will disappear. When the last box disappears, you'll earn your prize."

Naruto's eyes glittered as he eyed the waiting prize. Pulling the scroll toward himself, the young boy looked at the first section. "What do I have to do here, Kaka-nii?"

Kakashi pointed to the first section. "Well, this part is asking you to write out the numbers from one to ten. For this exercise, you need to write the correct words, in order. I know that you might have learned the kanji for some of these words but stick with the hiragana for now."

Naruto blinked at the paper for a second before he set to work and began to write out the appropriate characters, clearly taking great pains to make sure that his handwriting was immaculate. Several minutes later, he looked up with azure eyes gleaming after writing the characters for ten. "How do they look? Nothing disappeared, 'ttebayo! That means I did a good job, right?"

There was a momentary pause as the three watched the first box around the prize storing seal fade to nothing. "Well done, Naruto," the Sandaime praised the grinning boy. "Why don't we see such effort on the work you do for Askari-sensei?"

The question had been asked mostly in jest, but Naruto apparently missed that fact, as the blond paused to consider his answer anyway. "It's because this is special." The blond gestured to the unfurled scroll and grinned as the scattered ink droplets disappeared into the page. "Kaka-nii made this awesome scroll just for me. I need to do my best so it's worth it, dattebayo!" After a second, the grin slipped away. "Akari-sensei wouldn't believe I can do it, anyway."

The blond shook his head to clear his thoughts as the two adults exchanged troubled glances. "Well, you did a very good job, Naruto," Kakashi commented, trying to distract from unhappy thoughts. Reaching to the table he rolled up the scroll and presented it to the young boy. "Keep working on those exercises. If you work hard, you'll get them all done by the end of the school year. You'll have to pay very good attention in class, though. I don't think you've learned everything you need to finish the scroll yet."

"For right now, let's take a break, Naruto," Sarutobi cut in as the blond began reaching toward the brush to resume his work. "Kakashi has been gone for a long time and I have to admit that I'm eager to hear about your field trip today. Will you put off working on the scroll to tell us about it?"

At Naruto's excited nod, the trio circled their chairs near the office's stove and settled in for an afternoon of listening to Naruto's animated (and embellished) stories about the past several months in the classroom.


	9. Chapter 9

"Ne, Jiji? Why do we use pencils to write in class? These brushes are so much cooler."

Hiruzen looked up from a stack of reports to regard Naruto hunched over Kakashi's scroll. The old man smiled gently at the ink spots all over the boy's forehead. In the weeks since the silver-haired Jōnin had given Naruto his birthday present, the blond had been in the tower almost every day, eagerly working through the challenges presented in the scroll. Because the boy did not own his own brushes or inkwell, Naruto visited the old man to use the beginner's calligraphy set the Hokage had procured for Kakashi's initial demonstration. The additional time spent together was a fortunate side effect.

"Well, Naruto, ink and brushes have several disadvantages over pencils. Though you don't seem to mind, most people don't appreciate how messy they get when using ink, especially if they don't have much experience with a brush." At Naruto's confused expression, Sarutobi pulled a small mirror and a towel from his desk to show the boy his ink-spotted face. Naruto accepted the towel after seeing his reflection and began scrubbing his whiskered face clean as the old man continued. "Pencils are easier to carry around and don't require any preparation to write with them. In fact, there are only three ways I can think of where people still use brushes and ink. Can you guess what they are?"

As Naruto continued scrubbing at his face to remove the last ink spots, the young blond puzzled on his Jiji's question. "You write with a brush, Jiji! That's one place, dattebayo!" Apparently satisfied with how clean his face was, the whiskered boy dropped the towel beside his work station and scrunched whiskered cheeks up in thought once again. Looking down at the scroll in front of him, the boy's face brightened again. "Kaka-nii used it here to make my scroll, too. That's another place." Several more seconds passed before the blond turned a hesitant face toward Sarutobi. "Is the last place something to do with being a ninja, Jiji?"

The old man smiled at his ward, clearly pleased with the answers that had been offered. "You guessed two of the three situations, Naruto. Well done!" As the boy smiled back up at him, Hiruzen continued his explanation. "Writing with ink and brushes is a more elegant form of writing than using pencils. It is also different from using pencils because, excluding the case of special seals like the one on your scroll, ink is permanent. Whatever you write with a pencil can be erased and changed, but ink will stay on the paper and won't disappear after it dries. These two traits make it quite useful for the two more mundane applications I had in mind: paperwork," the old man gestured to the stacked sheets on his desk, "and art." The Hokage indicated the tapestries hanging on the wall: flowing murals depicting scenes from around the village that the Sandaime had painted during his leisure time. "Because it is a traditional skill, many clans expect their members to be able to write and draw with a calligraphy brush. That will be part of the schooling that Konohamaru-chan receives when he prepares for the ninja academy. I use a brush for my paperwork as Hokage because the dried ink shows that what I say in the documents I sign hasn't been changed since I wrote it. I use ink for my paintings and poetry so that I can be reminded of the beautiful activities going on every day around the village."

"But what about my scroll, Jiji? That's not Hokage work or fancy stuff. Why did Kaka-nii use ink to make my scroll?" Naruto picked up the object and waved it for the old man to see. "He said it was fu-fūjutsu, or something like that."

The Sandaime nodded. " _Fūinjutsu_ is a ninja art that stores chakra in symbols, mostly written on paper. With good planning and lots of practice, a ninja proficient in fūinjutsu can do things that are impossible with regular ninjutsu."

"What kinds of things, Jiji?" Naruto cocked one eyebrow up, clearly dubious about the old man's claim.

"Well…" The Sandaime reached into one of the drawers on his desk and drew out a rectangular slip of paper. Handing it to Naruto, the Hokage continued, "this is a sealing tag that was written up to lock away a ninja's chakra. If I were to put it on a ninja and use a bit of my own chakra to activate it, this seal would partially block the ninja's ability to use their chakra. With enough of these tags, they would no longer be able to perform ninjutsu or genjutsu."

Naruto quirked an eyebrow, obviously intrigued, but the boy still seemed to need some convincing, so the Hokage decided to share his penultimate example of the art. Wrinkled hands reached into another drawer of his desk before drawing out a stylized kunai knife with three blades on its head and an incredibly intricate formula written on the paper tag wrapped around its handle. "Fūinjutsu was also a specialty of the Yondaime Hokage. He was able to use seals to instantly teleport to any kunai tagged with these seals. This technique is called the Hiraishin. It is one of the jutsu he used in the last war to protect our home. This sealing formula is so complex that no one has ever been able to replicate his proficiency with the jutsu." Hiruzen offered the knife to the boy who placed his brush down and accepted the offered blade with reverent awe etched across his features. "Fūinjutsu is the basis for some of the most powerful techniques in the ninja world, Naruto."

Naruto turned the knife over in his hands, gently running his hands over every surface. When he tried to feel the edge of the blade, the boy drew his hand back with a sharp hiss of breath, a drop of blood forming on his fingertips where the kunai had cut skin. "Sugoi, Jiji!" Naruto's breathy whisper demonstrated exactly how enthralled he was with the weapon. After several more minutes turning the blade over in his hands, Naruto handed it back to the Hokage.

The old man stored the relic back in his desk and turned to Naruto with a small smile on his face. "Namikaze Minato gave me that kunai the day that he was selected as the Yondaime Hokage. He wanted me to be able to call for him whenever I needed. If I threw that kunai, the seal would alert him, and he would be able to appear at my side in an instant."

At that, Naruto's face lit up in excitement. "Then I'm gonna do that too, dattebayo! I'm gonna learn how to do fūinjutsu and be an awesome ninja like my daddy. I'll be able to come and help my family when they need it! I'll even figure out how to do the Hiraishin."

The Sandaime smiled at the declaration. "Well, I think the first step to making that happen is to complete Kakashi's scroll. Once you complete that, we'll see about getting you started on learning the sealing arts."

"Yatta!" Naruto reached for his brush, ready and eager to pass the test Kaka-nii had made for him so that Jiji would teach him to be like the Yondaime.

Sarutobi watched contentedly as this youngest protector of the Leaf attacked the scroll with renewed vigor. The Hokage had no doubt that the boy could learn the sealing arts, if he so desired. Naruto was creative and clever; there would be very little he could not achieve. The talent and heart of this new generation would build a strong future for Konoha, of that the old man was sure.

* * *

"Danzō-sama."

Shimura Danzo calmly placed his tea cup on the table before he turned his bandaged head to regard the newcomer kneeling at attention just outside the door frame of his private meditation room. At first glance, the bowed figure might have been mistaken for one of the Hokage's ANBU. A tan robe covered the heavily armored form whose face was covered by a porcelain mask, just as with the elite agents. However, even a second glance at the figure would betray the lie in that initial assessment. While ANBU masks wore neutral expressions and were patterned to give a vague impression of the animal that served as the agent's call sign, the expression on this painted face was that of a snarling spirit, howling its fury against creation. Root was Danzō's personal army: blindly loyal and masterfully trained, they existed only to act as agents of the aged man's will.

"Report." The order was given in a cold, raspy voice that conveyed a tone of absolute mastery. This man _would_ be obeyed.

If the masked figure had any sense of self-preservation, she might have shivered. However, those instincts had long since been repressed to the point of non-existence. Thus, it was with the same monotone voice that the messenger continued, "An intruder was captured making his way toward headquarters from the north. He surrendered immediately when confronted, saying that he has a message that can only be delivered to the 'Shinobi no Yami'. Agents brought him to Interrogation Facility Two and processed him according to protocol. He has responded to interrogators by repeating his initial declaration. We attempted a psychic probe, but his mental wards are exceptional; Yamanaka Osamu is currently comatose, suffering from what the medics have described as 'acute psychic trauma'."

The old man's posture did not change. Not a muscle twitched out of place, nor did he utter a word. Having done none of those things, however, Shimura Danzo's irritation became apparent, as the air pressure in the small sitting room suddenly doubled. Despite the suffocating atmosphere, the messenger remained in her kneeling posture, head bowed and ready to receive her commander's orders. "I will hear his message." Once again, the voice was like ice, frozen boulders tumbling roughly down a frigid stream, uncaring what they smashed as they raged to their destination.

At once, the cloaked figure rose from her kneeling posture to retrieve the wooden cane resting by the doorway. With a bow, she presented it to the old man, who had risen with surprising grace for someone who could not walk without aid. Accepting the prop, the crippled veteran walked toward the door, spartan black yukata rustling in the early Spring breeze. Turning to the cloaked figure waiting beside the still-steaming mug, he ordered, "Increase counter-infiltration patrols. And tell Minori-san that I will be stopping in for a pot of her best jasmine tea later this afternoon."

Orders given, the old man began a slow, measured stroll through his clan compound and out into the village proper. As he walked past his clansmen and down the streets of the village, the veteran of three Great Shinobi Wars cast a calculating eye over the children who ran by him, busy in their play. Many were unexceptional, unworthy of his time and efforts, though he never failed to keep an eye out for those he might bring under his tutelage.

After nearly an hour, with no new prospects, the bandaged elder turned into a small tea shop where a hanging tag outside the door declared that the business was closed for the day. As the old cripple pushed open the door, the hostess and her serving staff rushed over to bow deeply to him. "Danzo-sama, we are honored by your presence. We received word of your coming and have prepared the back room for you, in keeping with your usual preferences."

The heavily-bandaged figure regarded the completely empty tea shop before he turned to the crone sitting by the door. Shimura Minori was the village elder's second cousin and had married outside of the Shimura clan to start this tea shop with her late husband. Despite retiring from shinobi life, she remained active as a dealer of poisons, paralytics, and drugs of all kinds. That expertise would come in handy today. Nodding to the shop's aged founder and ignoring the rest of the staff, the old man walked slowly to the back room and settled himself onto a cushion. "You will leave after the table is set." Once again, the order was given calmly, with no fear of disobedience.

Immediately, the serving staff swarmed about, setting two cups and a piping hot teapot in the center of the table. Then, with professionalism born of practice, they stepped out the front of the shop, deftly closing the door and leaving the room to be lit by soft beams of the late afternoon sun.

Shortly after the lock clicked shut and the shuffling of the aged Minori 's feet faded to nothing, a sliding hatch hidden in the wall opened to reveal two more cloaked figures holding a bound man between them. As the captive was forcefully seated, his 'host' took a moment to study his guest. The man was short, with a small, gangly frame. He had short-cut, wiry hair that extended down his face to form an unkempt beard. The clothes he wore were interesting: a tan yukata worn over black pants. Both were made of good fabric but draped on the man unprofessionally. When the blindfold came off, small, beady eyes raced around the room, taking in every threat and escape route as only a coward could, before finally settling on the bandaged man across the table. Licking cracked lips and rubbing thin wrists to restore circulation after his shackles were removed, the slight man looked greedily at the teapot on the table and the steaming mug in front of the bandaged elder. "Yami-sama, I presume. I don't suppose your lordship would be willing to offer your humble servant a bit o' refreshment? Your men have been most unkind to me, despite my peaceful cooperation when I arrived. I do wish I could have answered their questions, but I've been told that I only get to speak with you. My master was pretty insistent about that."

The Shimura clan's eldest surviving shinobi nodded his silent assent and watched as the other man poured himself a full mug of tea and took a tentative sip. After a second's consideration, the expensive brew seemed to meet the visitor's approval, as the mousy man proceeded to drain the rest of the cup in a single swallow. "Right quality stuff you've got there, your lordship," the grubby man smacked his lips in appreciation before refilling his cup. "I was told you're a man with taste, and boy, is that right. Orochimaru-sama must want ol' Gaichūmaru to get a taste of the finer things in life for when he promotes me."

"Perhaps." the old man replied, unconvinced. If Orochimaru had indeed sent this fool, it was because the task entrusted to him was simple beyond all reckoning. The man reeked of equal parts ambition and stupidity. "Why have you sought out the 'Shinobi no Yami'?"

"Well, Yami-sama," Gaichūmaru once again swallowed the entire contents of his teacup before filling it for a third time. "Orochimaru-sama has a business proposition for you. Seemed really keen on it, too. Said it would 'fan the embers' of the fire you've been trying to light and net him a couple new research subjects. Top it off with a mighty big stick in the Hokage's nethers, if you know what I mean, and it's a golden package." The man smirked at his host, but only the right side of his face responded, though the man didn't seem to notice. It seemed that Minori's brew had begun to take effect.

Danzo considered the man in front of him before the elder raised his own mug to his lips and slowly sipped the contents, savoring the exquisite flavor. The old man's mug had been coated with the antidote to his cousin's concoction, so there was no risk from drinking the same tea as his guest. Calmly placing his cup back on the table, the bandaged elder addressed his guest, who seemed to have finally noticed that something was wrong due to the drool that had begun to pool on his sleeve. "You are a fool." The ratty man's right eye widened in surprise before narrowing in anger at the accusation. "You were brought before an older shinobi and immediately assumed that you had met your contact. Based on that assumption, you shared not only your name, but your _master's_ as well. With minimal prodding, you referenced plans years in the making and expressed disdain for the reigning Hokage of Konohagakure." The man's small eyes bugged at the realization, and he tried to speak, though his mouth was, at this point, too uncoordinated to form words. Cutting him off, the bandaged man continued, "Finally, as you may have realized, you trusted the drink offered to you, which was laced with an additive that has left you numb and immobile."

The rat-faced man tried to rise, but his muscular control had deteriorated enough that he only fell face first onto the table. "Mraah, mrah mrehmreh mrah." The man's beady eyes looked up at the stone-faced elder, wide and fearful.

The man known as the Shinobi no Yami gestured and the limp form of his guest was jerked up to a roughly seated posture. "Normally, I would have you killed to rid the world of your incompetence. However, your proposal was intriguing enough that I will give you one chance to save your life by telling me everything I want to know." A masked figure wiped a foul-smelling swab over the man's swollen lips as Danzo continued. "When I ask a question, you will answer it and continue providing information until you are told to stop, at which point you will cease speaking. If you fail to follow these instructions, you will be killed, and I will send someone more intelligent to speak to Orochimaru. Do you understand?"

The man was white-faced and sweating, but he had regained enough control with the application of the anti-venom to nod vigorously and began to ramble unintelligibly. "Mrah, mrah mrah, mreh mroh mrah-"

"It seems that you can be trained, at least when the cost of failure is yourself," the Shimura elder cut across the man's garbled response. The room sat in silence for several minutes, Danzo sipping contentedly at his tea and Gaichūmaru gradually regaining muscle control so that he could sit up under his own power. "Now," the second most powerful man in Konoha gently set his cup on the table. "Tell me about the snake's idea."

* * *

"Well, Naruto, how was your last day of school?"

The Sandaime's greeting followed a tremendous bear hug from the breathless blond. As his class was dismissed for the last time to their waiting parents, Naruto had led the charge of excited five-year-olds spilling from the school building's doors. Looking around the school yard, Hiruzen smiled to himself as he saw the grinning faces of children who knew that they were free from their desks for nearly a month. Chief among those smiles was the one that threatened to split Naruto's whiskered cheeks as the excitable blond waved a sheet of paper far too quickly for the old man to read the words written there. "I passed Jiji! I did it, dattebayo!"

Accepting the offered paper from the boy, the Hokage resolved to spend time later reviewing Akari-san's comments about Naruto's performance. The more immediate concern was celebrating with the excited blond. "That's wonderful news, my boy." The old man caught Naruto mid-leap and brought the wriggling mass in for another tight hug. "I knew you could do it." As he noticed Naruto looking around the school yard hopefully, the village patriarch answered the question he could see forming on the young boy's lips. "I'm sorry to say that Kakashi got held up returning from his mission in the Land of Rivers, Naruto. He sent Pakkun ahead several hours ago to tell me that he would be late. However, he is safe and should return later this afternoon. In the meantime, why don't you and I go get lunch, hm? Hideko-chan asked to bring Konohamaru-chan by later, as well. We can have a celebration of you graduating from your first year at school."

"Okay," Naruto's disappointment at missing Kakashi was quickly replaced by excitement that he would be able to see both of his brothers at the same time, that afternoon. "Can we go get ramen at Ichiraku's?"

Hiruzen chuckled to himself at the blond's selection. Naruto could be so unpredictable in so many ways, but it was easy money to bet that the whiskered boy would choose to go to Ichiraku's at every opportunity. "We can go see if he has space for us." With that, the Hokage let Naruto down and trotted behind the blond as the pair made their way to the small food stall.

Leaping onto his stool, Naruto proudly addressed the aged chef, "Miso ramen, please, Teuchi-jiisan. We're celebrating because I passed school, 'ttebayo."

"Congratulations, Naruto!" The ramen chef beamed as he served up a bowl of miso with all the toppings for Naruto and a seafood special for the Hokage. "Eat up, there's lots of broth and noodles ready for when you finish this bowl."

As the pair sat and chatted through their meal, Hiruzen took the opportunity to read Akari-san's comments about Naruto's classroom performance. As the old man had predicted, the young teacher's comments had been largely backhanded compliments and brutal assessments of the boy's shortcomings. Despite this, she had passed Naruto to the next grade and even commented on the blond's surprising dedication to his studies. The Hokage smiled when he read the comment about Naruto's handwriting. It had taken several suggestions that fūinjutsu required meticulous handwriting and a demonstration of the Hokage's own calligraphy to convince the boy of the necessity of practicing, but Naruto had eventually decided that the skill was a worthy investment of his time.

After several more bowls and over an hour of shared laughs, the Hokage leaned back in his seat, sighing contentedly. "Well, Naruto, we ought to head to the tower. Hideko-chan should be arriving with Konohamaru-chan soon and Ichiraku-san would probably appreciate space for more customers. While we wait for them to arrive, you can show me how much progress you've made in making the leaf dance."

Naruto nodded excitedly and slurped down the broth from his last bowl. The pair stood, and the old man dropped his customary overpayment to cover future bowls on the small stand's counter. Then, with a smile, his wrinkled hand found Naruto's smooth one and the pair set off for the Hokage tower. They arrived to find that Hideko had yet to arrive with Konohamaru, so the old man offered some of the leaves from his office plant for the boy to demonstrate his progress. Thus, it was that the Hokage's daughter arrived with a sleeping toddler to find Naruto grinning with pride as the Sandaime praised him for the leaf that remained resolutely adhered to the boys' fingertips as the five-year-old raced wildly around the office. That game was soon forgotten, however, as Naruto's enthusiastic greeting woke Konohamaru from his midday nap and the 15-month-old started to toddle resolutely around the office. The two boys took turns chasing each other as their Jiji watched contentedly from his seat, laughing along to the excited shrieks.

Eventually the pair collapsed into a tangle of limbs on the floor, gasping for breath. Their energy returned a second later when the door opened and a head of wildly spiky, silver hair peeked through. "I'm not late, am I?" Kakashi's nonchalant question was met with a shout of joy from Naruto and an excited shriek from Konohamaru. Letting himself into the office, the masked man eyed Naruto fondly. "I take it from the excited faces that today was a good day?"

Naruto nodded excitedly. "Uh-huh, Kaka-nii! I passed, dattebayo! I get to keep going to school. There's even some people who let me play with them now."

Kakashi smiled behind his mask at the news and reached for his bag, drawing a kunai. "Congratulations, Naruto! We'd better let the whole pack know."

Naruto nodded eagerly, but the Hokage's voice stopped the Jōnin before he could complete the jutsu to summon his familiars. "Kakashi, I think we'd better take things outside, if you're going to summon the entire pack. My office has barely withstood these two hooligans without adding eight ninja hounds to the mix."

"As you command, Hokage-sama." Kakashi saluted and grabbed Naruto's offered hand as the Hokage scooped up Konohamaru. The mismatched quartet marched out of the study and beyond the warded sector of the tower before disappearing in a swirl of leaves. When their vision cleared, Naruto grinned to find that they had come to the same field as his first day with Kaka-nii. Kakashi released Naruto's hand before nicking his right palm with the kunai, flashing through five hand signs, and slamming the bloody appendage on the ground.

When the smoke cleared, eight dogs stared expectantly at Naruto's face. "Well, pup?" Pakkun's gruff voice came from Bull's head as the small pug grinned down at the smiling boy. Naruto grinned and raised both hands in a thumbs-up gesture that sent the entire group into frenzy of excited yips, pushing bodies, and licked faces. Naruto was left laughing breathlessly on the ground, short arms trying unsuccessfully to push the big animals off him.

This continued until Konohamaru made his displeasure at not being included known in the form of some very vocal babbling and determined wriggling in the Hokage's arms. As the old man set the toddler down, Kakashi let out a sharp whistle that drew the attention of all nine sets of eyes in the dog pile. "You've got a little one joining you." A gloved hand gestured to the toddler, who was steadily advancing on the mass of limbs and tails, making grabbing gestures with tiny hands. "If he gets hurt, it's dry kibble for a month for the lot of you."

At that, Bull separated from Naruto to go attend to the toddler. The massive bulldog took several seconds sniffing Konohamaru before drenching the small form in drool with his enthusiastic licking. The youngest Sarutobi was shocked into silence for a second before he proceeded to stick his small hand as far into the big dog's mouth as it could go, giggling the entire time. The rest of the pack resumed attacking Naruto, who still failed to fend them off, even without their largest member, and was forced to lay breathless on the ground as he was licked clean of anything that wasn't dog slobber.

After a minute, the dogs pulled back and Naruto gradually caught his breath. Bull brought Konohamaru over, as the boy had crawled almost completely into the big dog's mouth and deposited the slimy toddler onto Naruto's chest. This brought on a new round of hysterics for the boys before Pakkun nipped playfully at Naruto's fingertips and both children were once again on their feet, racing around the field as they chased after the frolicking hounds.

Several hours later, Konohamaru had literally fallen asleep on his feet before collapsing onto an attentive Bull's back and being carried to the Sandaime. Most of Kakashi's dogs had retired to the afternoon shade, taking turns to go out into the sunshine and chase Naruto around the field. Watching the blond race by, Hiruzen wryly contemplated the advantages of getting the Uzumaki a dog of his own for the boy to run ragged every night. Doubtless, the extra exercise would help the whiskered five-year-old focus during school and homework by using up some of his seemingly limitless energy. Unfortunately, the old man didn't quite trust Naruto to take care of a dog by himself, so he shelved the idea for later. Instead, with a quick glance at the setting sun, the village leader decided to bring everyone inside for the day. "Naruto, I think it's time for us to head back to the tower. Hideko-chan will be by soon to collect Konohamaru-chan, and I'd like to get him cleaned up before then."

Naruto pouted. "Can't we stay out longer, Jiji? I haven't caught Ūhei when she's goin' fast yet."

Said greyhound smirked from where she lay panting and sprawled across the lawn. Thus far, Naruto had only been able to catch her by wearing her down. Pakkun's gruff voice pre-empted Naruto's continued whining, "We're just about out of chakra from the summoning anyway, pup. We need to go home and sleep." The pug padded over to the blond, and leapt onto the boy's head, balancing there precariously. "We're all real proud of you. Good job this year." The voice was low, not so quiet that the others couldn't hear, but obviously meant for Naruto alone.

Whiskered cheeks flushed, and the blond mumbled out, "Thanks, Pakkun-sensei."

Giving the boy one last lick, the tan dog leapt from Naruto's head to trot over the where the rest of the pack had assembled in front of Kakashi. With a salute from the reported 'softest paws in the world', a cloud of smoke enveloped the assembled canines and blew away to reveal that the summoning had been dismissed.

With the absence of external stimuli, Naruto felt his energy flagging as he meandered over to grab Kaka-nii's waiting hand. Stifling a yawn, the small blond allowed himself to be hoisted onto his brother's hip, while the Sandaime picked up his grandson. As the leaves swirled around the senior ninja, Naruto's eyes closed, and he fell into a deep, contented sleep.

* * *

"Wake up, Naruto. We have to get you ready for bed."

Blue eyes cracked open as the blond looked around, slowly focusing in on the posters that marked the space as Naruto's apartment. The blond looked around from his comfortable position in Kakashi's arms, as the young man walked through the apartment toward the bathroom. Yawning, small arms stretched wide as the whiskered boy tried to wake himself up. "I can't go to bed yet, Kaka-nii. I got one more thing for today, 'ttebayo."

"Oh, you do?" Kakashi's tone was amused. "And here I thought that finishing your first year of school followed by three hours running the pack ragged would be enough for you. What else do we need to do today?" Even as he asked, the young man turned on the water and began to strip Naruto of his dirty clothes, only for the little blond to struggle against his older brother's efforts.

"I gotta finish your scroll, 'ttebayo!" Naruto's exclamation effectively put an end to Kakashi's efforts, as the little boy pulled his once-white t-shirt back over his bright yellow locks. "I only got one thing left and Jiji said it was a special one that I should do with you."

"I suppose that would be the perfect finish to today," Kakashi agreed after a moment's consideration. Turning off the water and pulling the plug, the silver-haired ANBU shooed the smiling blond toward the kitchen. "Well, get moving, then. I've got some brushes you can use, if you're very careful. I'll get the inkwell ready while you get your scroll and set up at the table. Grinning, the now fully-awake child rushed out of the room while his taller companion followed, much more sedately.

When they had set up at the table, Naruto grabbed Kakashi's brush and dipped the tip into the ink tray. "What's the last thing, Kaka-nii?" The blond's hand hovered over his last box, clearly eager to finally see what his brother had hidden for him many months ago.

"Well," Kakashi began, "this last exercise isn't a test of everything you've learned at school, but of everything you've learned about the leaf exercise with Sandaime-sama." At Naruto's quirked brow, the young prodigy continued. "Hokage-sama told me today that you've learned how to move your chakra through your arms to stick the leaf to your hands." Naruto grinned and demonstrated as, with several seconds of concentration, he was able to stick the unrolled end of the scroll to his flat palm and draw it several inches above the table surface before it broke free. "That's very good," the masked man congratulated before continuing. "I'm sure Sandaime-sama told you, but the next step with the leaf is to move your chakra while keeping the leaf stuck. What we're going to do here is to push your chakra through the brush into the ink as you write on the scroll."

Naruto's eyes grew large as dinner plates as he considered that idea. "You can put your chakra out of your body, Kaka-nii?!"

"You can indeed," Kakashi agreed as he reached to a plant on the windowsill and plucked one of the new growth leaves that had sprouted there. Then, to the blond's amazement, the leaf proceeded to fall from his older brother's gloved hand before stopping to hang in mid-air nearly a foot below the Jōnin's fingers. After a second, the leaf ascended back into Kakashi's waiting palm. "Most ninja can't extend their raw chakra more than an inch or two from their body," the young man offered. "It's much easier to channel your chakra into a jutsu, which will hold shape as you direct your chakra. Having the conduit of a formed jutsu or, in our case, the physical brush, allows you to push the chakra outside of your body. When you create seals using fūinjutsu, you'll push your chakra through the brush and into the ink on the paper. You need to provide a steady stream of chakra as you create seals." With his explanation finished, Kakashi gestured to the scroll. "Your task here is to do the same thing. Try to push your chakra out of the brush and into the ink as you're writing your name. Two things you need to know." Here the ANBU prodigy raised his hand to stall Naruto's first attempt at the exercise. "Your name needs to be written in kanji this time, and the amount of chakra you push out of the brush doesn't need to be uniform. This will be easier than creating seals, so I don't want you to try doing this again without either Hokage-sama or I there to watch until we say it's okay."

Naruto pouted for a bit but relented when Kakashi continued to stare pointedly at him. "I won't Kaka-nii. I promise, dattebayo."

Promise received, Kakashi relaxed and gestured to the scroll. "Let's see it, Uzumaki-kun."

Grinning like a madman, Naruto leaned over the paper, eyes narrowed in concentration. This week in class, Akari-sensei had shown each of the students how to write the kanji for their names. They had run out of time before she could help Naruto, but the Sandaime had been willing to show the boy the appropriate brush strokes later that afternoon. The study session had lasted late into the evening, but the lesson was still fresh in Naruto's mind. Slowly and carefully, the blond traced out twelve strokes for the first character in his last name, followed by nine strokes for the second. It was quite a weird feeling: pushing his chakra outside of his body, but Naruto managed to keep the energy flowing through the entire writing process. After two more characters for his first name, which needed two and three tries, respectively, Naruto's name was finished, and the boy watched in breathless wonder as the last line of script dissolved from the end of his scroll. A small puff of smoke erupted from the previously enclosed circle to reveal an envelope.

Picking up the paper, Naruto looked over the kanji before turning to his watching companion. "What's it say, Kaka-nii?"

Somewhat embarrassed, Kakashi took the envelope and read the inscription. "To: Konoha's Gekage, From: your Kaka-nii. Happy birthday, otouto."

Naruto cocked his head to the side, blue eyes wide in curiosity. "Who's the Gekage? I thought this was for me, dattebayo."

"Ah ha," Kakashi chuckled a bit to himself before he explained. "Do you remember how I said that a Genin is a junior ninja, someone who's just learning how to be a ninja? I thought that Gekage would be a good title for someone who's learning to be Hokage. I figured it would be an appropriate nickname until you earn the hat for real."

Naruto beamed as he accepted the envelope back from the silver-haired young man. "Sugoi! So that's me? I'm the Gekage? You're the best, Kaka-nii!"

"Well, don't stop there," the masked man prompted. "Don't you want to see what's inside?"

Eagerly, small hands opened the envelope to find a photograph. Blue eyes studied the image there before Naruto hugged it tightly to his chest. "Thank you, Kaka-nii. It's awesome, dattebayo." Naruto's voice was thick as the little boy desperately tried to hold back tears.

"You're welcome, Naruto," Kakashi warmly replied. "Now, I think it's time for that bath. You've had a busy day."

Naruto nodded and allowed himself to be shepherded to the bathroom. An hour later, Kakashi looked back in the boy's room as he turned off the light. Naruto nestled deeper into the covers as he drifted off. Even as he succumbed to sleep, the boy snuggled tightly to the photograph he had worked so hard to earn. It had been taken during one of Kakashi and Naruto's camping trips. Against a backdrop of the huge trees that made up the forests around the village, the pair had pitched a small camp. There they had spent several evenings, with the older boy teaching the younger survival skills. In this scene, Naruto was surrounded by Kakashi's hounds, all grinning broadly at the camera. In a similar fashion to the way Naruto had pasted other clippings overtop of real photos as he tried to imagine Kakashi's face, this picture had been altered to show something different than the original scene. Though it was much more professionally done, the changes were just as obvious as the blond's cuttings from magazines: the Naruto in this picture wore the bright red hat, proudly adorned with the kanji for fire which declared its wearer to be the Hokage. As Kakashi closed the door to head home for the evening, he chuckled to himself. "I can't wait to take that picture for real, Naruto. They'd be so proud of you. Goodnight, Gekage-kun."


	10. Chapter 10

"Jiiijiii! I'm a ninja now!"

Naruto's high-pitched cry rang through the cold air, shattering the early evening calm. Snow blanketed the streets, muting both the boy's shout and the crunch of his footsteps as the blond six-year old hurtled down Konoha's main thoroughfare. Most people had retreated inside as darkness fell, hoping that the morning would bring an end to the clouds and the sun would once again warm the streets, but neither the snow nor the prospect of sunshine tomorrow mattered to the little blond as he pounded down the empty thoroughfare, grinning like a madman despite a puffy eye and the fading bruises on his cheek. Those few merchants who had not yet made it home for the evening gawked for a moment as the Kyūbi no gaki raced by before they returned their attention to closing their shops.

As he barreled through the front doors of the Hokage tower, Naruto's grin stretched wider as he thought of his day. The morning had been fun, especially when Fujio-sensei had fallen asleep at the board. The old man did that sometimes and was rarely amused with what he found upon waking. Today, Naruto had decided to lead his classmates outside for an impromptu recess when their teacher started to snore. _But what did Fujio-sensei expect would happen if he fell asleep at the board?_ _It was about as nice a thing as Naruto could have done, 'ttebayo!_ The blond's other ideas would have been far more amusing, but most of the class were tattletales, so the whiskered boy would have been caught as the sole perpetrator and in more trouble had the wrinkled instructor woken to find himself glued to the floor. As it was, the old man had been able to enjoy his short nap in a much quieter classroom as his charges frolicked in the falling snow.

After school had been even better, as the blond had trekked across the village to the Hokage tower to deliver the registration papers Jiji had signed for him so that he could attend the ninja academy in April. After dropping them off with the young Chūnin at the academy wing's administrative desk, Naruto had amused himself on the academy's grounds for a while, playing on the training equipment available there and meeting some of his future classmates. Then, as he'd been getting ready to head home for the afternoon, there had been the shout. Raised, mocking voices that, strangely, weren't directed at him. So, with all the subtlety of a hurricane, Naruto had rushed from his swing to find several older boys circling a crying girl, shouting at her, even as she flinched away. Naruto had charged in to defend her and woken several minutes later with a swelling black eye and rapidly darkening bruises. The delinquents seemed to have grown bored and left, as the only one still there when the boy regained consciousness was the dark-haired girl. Seeing that she was now fine, the boy had run off when he realized that is was just about dinner time.

Only after telling the story to Teuchi-jiisan and having the aged restauranteur point out that Naruto had been quite heroic for protecting the girl had the whiskered blond realized just what his actions might mean. _Jiji said that protecting people was what ninja did, dattebayo!_ Hurriedly finishing his meal, Naruto had excused himself and left to go tell the Sandaime about his accomplishment. The old man would surely make him a ninja when he heard! With that thought in mind, the excitable boy skidded to a stop in front of the heavy wooden door that guarded the Sandaime's office, having skated by the secretary who tried to grab him on his way past. Throwing open the door, the blond ran into the office and loudly declared, "Jiji! You gotta make me a ninja now!"

At his desk, the old man smiled at the blond. "Oh, I do, hm? Well, I must admit, I'd like to hear more about what brought about that conclusion, Naruto. However, I am in a meeting now, so I need you to wait outside with Hiseko-san until we're done." With a nod of his head, the village leader indicated the man sitting across from him. The man's jaw was firm and square, and he looked kind of grumpy, if Naruto was honest with himself. Piercing black eyes were framed by coarse brown hair. His clothes were of high quality, but utilitarian in their design.

Naruto turned to leave, pouting a bit before he brightened and turned back to the pair. "But Jiji, he's gonna be part of my family too. I need to meet him." Naruto scampered across the room before planting himself in front of the figure and extending a small hand. "Hiya, I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I'm gonna be the Hokage one day, 'ttebayo. What's your name?"

The man stared at Naruto for several seconds, face frozen in an unreadable mask, before answering. "I am Uchiha Fugaku." With that the strange man turned stiffly back to Sarutobi, "Hokage-sama, might you remove the boy so that we can finish our discussion?"

"Please excuse him, Uchiha-dono," Sarutobi requested as he rose from his seat. "Naruto-kun sometimes forgets that he is not supposed to come into my office without first _asking Hiseko-san if I am in a meeting_." Naruto squawked and began babbling an explanation, but the old man grabbed the blond around the shoulders and steered him towards the door. "Naruto, I really do need to finish this meeting. Please, go speak with Hiseko-san and get her to bring you an ice pack. I am confident that the story of how you got those bruises will wait until Uchiha-dono and I have finished our discussion and you have received some attention for your scrapes. It should not take more than fifteen minutes."

The old man escorted the village ward to the door and, after a quick word of instruction to his secretary, returned to settle himself once again behind the desk. "Thank you for your patience, Fugaku-san. Naruto-kun is young and his manners are lacking without regular instruction. That, however, is not what we were discussing. You've heard my proposal. What are your thoughts on the matter?"

The Uchiha clan head regarded the village leader, his stony face impossible to read. Though short in stature and wrinkled with age, Sarutobi Hiruzen was not a man to take lightly. At 63, he had earned many prestigious titles: Sandaime Hokage, Professor, and Shinobi no Kami. He was a clever man who had seen his people through three Great Shinobi Wars and reclaimed his post after the devastation of the Kyūbi's attack six years ago to strengthen the village against any opportunistic assaults by foreign powers. He was tireless when defending his home and thought of everyone under his command as shinobi of Konoha first and foremost. It was with this thought in mind that the clan head carefully considered the plan laid out by his leader. Finally, the younger man spoke. "Hokage-sama, I cannot agree with your proposal. The Konoha Military Police Force was entrusted to my clan by the Nidaime Hokage. We Uchiha are strong, and we will continue to enforce the laws of Konoha. We will do so without intervention from outside forces."

"I understand that your clansmen are capable of doing their job, Uchiha-dono." Sarutobi's face took on a pained look for a moment before it once again smoothed to a neutral mask. "It was not my intention to suggest otherwise. I merely hoped that we might both benefit from loosening the divisions between your family and the rest of the village. You know what skillsets the other clans might be able to offer to support the police force in its mission. And we need look no further than your own son to see how much of an asset the Uchiha can be on official missions for the village."

"Nevertheless, Hokage-sama," the middle-aged police chief replied as he stood. "We will not surrender what is ours. My answer remains unchanged. Itachi and Shisui have petitioned the clan for special permission to join the village's forces, as is their right. I will not offer the rest of my clansmen for your service, though. The risks of the Sharingan being lost to outsiders while beyond the village walls are too great, as Hatake-san has shown us."

Hiruzen's face went stony at the last comment, a barbed reminder of how adamantly the clan had demanded proof that the boy had any right to bear their kekkei genkai. It was only after Nohara Rin had volunteered for and undergone heavy genjutsu interrogation to corroborate Kakashi's story that the Uchiha had grudgingly consented to allow the last Hatake to keep his transplanted Sharingan. "Very well then," the Sandaime stood and walked with his guest to the door of the study. "I wish you well, Uchiha-dono. Until next time." Sarutobi dipped his head in acknowledgement as he opened the door to his study, seeing his guest out. Once through the door, the Uchiha clan head bowed stiffly to the Hokage. Then, jaw still firmly squared, he turned and strode resolutely out of sight.

Out in the hallway, Naruto moped and held one of Hiruzen's handkerchiefs, likely packed with snow from the windowsill, to his face. "Can I come in _nooow_?" The blond's whine conveyed just how pleased he was to have been kept waiting. At the Sandaime's nod, the boy hopped off the seat he'd been waiting on and hurried into the office, a grin working its way back onto his face. Once inside, he shed his orange jacket, leaving it in a wet heap on the floor, before perching himself on one of the office's waiting chairs. The Sandaime took a second to hang the jacket by the fireplace before he too came to sit at the desk.

"Before you tell me about your day, Naruto," the Sandaime said as he took his seat and smiled at the blond, "I want to explain why I need you to check in with Hiseko-san before you come into my office." Naruto frowned, but Hiruzen pressed the issue. "As the Hokage, I have many calls for my time, Naruto. Many family members who want me to pay attention to them and help them with their problems. Does that make sense?" Naruto nodded slowly and started to offer some defense, but he quieted at the old man's stern look. "Would you appreciate it if, while you and I were having lunch together, someone else came in and interrupted us? Said I had to pay attention to them and ignore you, even though we were eating together, just a moment before?" Naruto's bright blue eyes grew wide with understanding and he shook his head mutely. "Exactly. I understand that you're excited, and your eye clearly indicates that you have a story to tell, but unless it's an emergency, I want you to ask Hiseko-san before you come in, alright?"

"Okay, Jiji." Naruto nodded his agreement. "But how do I know if it's a 'mergency?"

The Hokage paused to consider. "If someone is badly hurt or will be soon without my intervention, you have my permission to come in. Otherwise, please ask Hiseko-san, and she can tell you if I am entertaining guests." At the blond's assenting nod, the old man continued. "Now, you were quite excited to tell me about your day when you first came in. Does the story have something to do with that eye? It's quite an impressive bruise you have there."

"I saved a princess, Jiji! You have to let me be a ninja now, dattebayo!" Naruto almost bounced out of his chair with excitement at being able to make the proclamation. The boy grinned up at his grandfather figure, clearly proud of himself.

"Really now?" The old man settled back into his chair, smiling at the boy's enthusiasm. "I don't recall making any agreements along those lines. Who was this princess you rescued? And how did she come to be in danger?"

"You did so!" Naruto pointed accusingly at the bemused leader. "You said I needed to wait until I was a ninja before I saved a princess, 'ttebayo. Well, I did today. That means I'm a ninja."

The wrinkled head screwed up in thought for a moment before he smiled across the table at Naruto. "That was quite a while ago, my boy. I'm surprised you remembered. Though, if memory serves, I believe I merely stated that you wouldn't be rescuing any princesses during your first year at the civilian preparatory school. Regardless, I think I'll need to hear a bit more about who this princess is and how you saved her before I'm willing to say you've earned your hitai-ite."

Naruto paused for a moment to consider and blushed. "Well, I don't know who she is." The blond rubbed the back of his head sheepishly with the admission. "But she was really pretty, like a princess. And I saved her from those mean boys. Besides, I should help people even if they're not a princess, right?"

"That you should, my boy. I'm glad to hear that you're serious about protecting people. It's important for someone who's going to become Hokage. Why don't you start your story from the beginning?" the Sandaime suggested. "Tell me where you met this girl and how you rescued her."

The blond nodded at the suggestion. "So, after school, I went to take those papers to the academy, like you told me to. I had to wait in line a _suuuper_ long time, because there were a lot of people. I saw Sakura-chan from my class and Ami and Hibachi and all of their parents too. Then there were even more people I didn't know. There was this kid with a really big dog. It had a funny thing on its eye, and it could talk, like Pakkun-sensei. They were next to me in line. I think he said his name was Kibble." Blue eyes glanced up in curiosity at the Hokage's chuckle, but the Sandaime just waved for Naruto to continue his story. "He said his mom's gonna let him have a puppy when we start the academy, so he can be a ninja." Naruto paused a moment, pondering. "Jiji, why does he need a dog to be a ninja? I know Kaka-nii has Pakkun-sensei and the rest of the pack, but you don't have a dog, and the ANBU don't either."

Hiruzen smiled at the question, "Naruto, I imagine that they boy you met is a member of the Inuzuka clan. Many clans have special traditions for when their children reach a certain age. Most of the time, it shows that the clan feels the child is old enough to really be part of the family. Sometimes, the traditions allow the child to learn a special technique that is part of the clan's heritage. In the case of your young friend, I imagine that his being chosen to raise a puppy is a sign of trust, an indication that he has become valued part of his clan. Canine familiars are an important part of the Inuzuka clan's ninja heritage."

Naruto had nodded for most of the explanation and now posed a question to the old man. "Does that mean Kaka-nii is a 'Nuzuka? 'Cause he works with Pakkun-sensei and the rest of the pack?"

Sarutobi smiled at the boy. "It's the _Inuzuka_ clan, Naruto. Saying it incorrectly would be like calling you Zumaki Natto. It's very disrespectful. As far as your older brother is concerned, I've heard some people suggest that he has the connection with his ninken because his mother was a part of the clan, but I don't honestly know for sure. You'd have to ask Kakashi to find out the full story."

Naruto nodded and happily continued his narrative with a lengthy explanation of how he and the young Inuzuka boy had started talking in line and discovered a shared love of the outdoors and camping. Their argument about the greatest spot in the village to go fishing had lasted approximately 30 seconds before both were cuffed over the head by the irate woman with the other boy and told to "Quiet down, runts". Sarutobi could only surmise that Inuzuka Tsume had been frustrated at how quickly the boys' voices had risen in volume. It was hardly surprising, if her son had anything approaching Naruto's natural volume level.

"Then, after I gave the sensei my papers, the boy with the big dog had to go home with his mommy. I played with the other kids for a while, but their parents came and got them pretty fast, too. So, I was sitting on the swing when I heard these people in the trees start talking really loud. They sounded mad, kinda like some of the shopkeepers do when they talk to me, 'ttebayo." The old man's heart clenched at that comment, but Naruto seemed too excited to really pay attention to any possible melancholy. "There was three boys, Jiji. They were standing around this girl and shouting at her and calling her names. She was crying, dattebayo! So, I ran over and told them they better stop, because I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm gonna be the Hokage one day. They can't be mean to my family like that, 'ttebayo."

"I'm very proud of you, Naruto." The Hokage smiled as he spoke, willing the boy to feel the truth of those words. "That desire to protect people is essential to being Hokage. So, what happened after you told them to stop? I take it from your eye that there was a scuffle."

Naruto blushed bright red and began to rub the back of his head at the question. "Well, uh, they laughed and said I was a shrimp and there was three of them and one of me, so I should go away." The blond's face reddened more at the old man's searching look. "I tried the thing Kaka-nii did to make another one of him, but it didn't work. They were really small and not very scary."

"What thing did Kakashi do to make another one of himself?" The Sandaime's question was asked with the same tone of voice as the rest of the conversation, but Naruto noticed the subtle change. _Jiji was mad about something_. Hesitantly, the blond held his fingers up in a cross shape and showed the old man, whose face instantly hardened into a stormy expression. "Naruto, that is the hand sign for the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, a very dangerous technique. Did Kakashi teach you how to do that?"

"No, Jiji." Naruto miserably admitted. "He does it to help set up when we go camping or play with traps. He said I shouldn't try it." At the old man's pointed look, Naruto tried to defend himself. "I had to help her, 'ttebayo. I couldn't just leave her alone!"

"I am not suggesting that you should have left her alone, Naruto." Sarutobi massaged his head to ease the looming headache. "Defending others is an honorable decision, and I am immensely proud of you for standing up for this girl. What I'm upset about is how you decided to go about it. Instead of trying to help her by yourself, you could have gone and gotten an adult. There's a very good reason Kakashi told you not to try that jutsu. If it had worked the way it was supposed to, you would likely have been very badly hurt. I want you to promise me that you won't try that again without proper instruction, which will not happen until you are _much_ older and have demonstrated that you can be trusted with dangerous techniques."

Naruto ducked his head and nodded meekly, eager to calm the old man's wrath. "I'm sorry, Jiji. I promise I won't try it again until you say it's okay."

Mollified, the Sandaime leaned backed in his seat and took several deep puffs of his pipe. "Thank you, Naruto. I accept your apology." As shy blue eyes looked up from under too-long blond bangs, Sarutobi smiled to ease the boy's discomfort. "Please understand, that jutsu would kill most children your age, if they attempted it. I don't want to lose you because you were being unnecessarily reckless. Just think how sad Kakashi and Konohamaru would be without their brother."

Naruto's whiskered face screwed up in horror at the thought and he began nodding furiously. "I promise, Jiji. I'm sorry." Leaping off his chair, the blond rushed over to wrap the robed figure in a tight hug.

The pair sat in contented silence for several seconds before Hiruzen pulled Naruto back and the pair exchanged a warm glance. "Now," the Sandaime settled Naruto onto his lap, "I need to hear the rest of your story. How did you defend your princess?"

Naruto scowled at the Hokage's teasing. "She's not _my_ princess, Jiji. She's just _a_ princess." The old man's sage nod and knowing smile didn't really placate the blond, but Naruto decided to continue with his story anyway. "When the jutsu didn't work, I fought the meanies, all by myself. I pushed them over and hit them to make them go away, but eventually they knocked me down. They took my scarf and tore it up. Then they ran away, because they were scared of how awesome I was. When I got up, I went to get some ramen from Teuchi-jiisan, and then I came here so you could make me a ninja."

"Well, that's certainly impressive, my boy." Sarutobi caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye, as Mouse made herself visible for a moment. Apparently, the boy's ANBU detail would be offering the Hokage an unembellished version of Naruto's story when the boy went home. "So, did you say anything to your princess after the bullies left? Did you introduce yourself to her and learn her name so that you could be friends?"

Naruto's jaw worked for a moment before he smacked both hands on his face and dragged them down, pulling his eyelids and lower lip down as he did. "Gah, I forgot! That was stupid. But, maybe she's at the academy, dattebayo. Then I can make friends with her there."

"That _was_ silly of you," the old man smiled. "Well, I'm sure you'll meet her again, especially if she's in your class. When you do, please be sure to properly introduce yourself. I've reminded you before about how important manners are."

"Okay, Jiji." Naruto's response was sullen; the whiskered boy was obviously distressed about missing an opportunity to make a new friend.

"Now, now, none of that." A wrinkled hand clapped Naruto on the the back. Looking up, sad blue eyes met twinkling blacks. "You did a wonderful thing today, Naruto. I'm so proud of you, I think you deserve a surprise. In fact, it may be time for that…"

Hiruzen trailed off and chuckled to himself when Naruto took the verbal bait. "It may be time for what, Jiji? What do I get?" The blond began to wiggle and squirm around the chair as he contemplated the possibilities. "You're gonna make me a ninja, aren't you? You are! I'm so awesome. Uzumaki Naruto is the man, 'ttebayo. I'm gonna go on missions with Kaka-nii and teach Konohamaru to be a ninja and then you're gonna make me Hokage." The blond leapt from the old man's lap with his little fist raised in triumph.

Laughing, Sarutobi reached into one of the drawers of his desk and withdrew a small scroll. "Unfortunately, Naruto, there are more requirements to be a ninja than choosing to protect people. If I'm going to send you out on missions, I need to know that you have the skills to successfully complete them. That's what Kakashi is trying to teach you when he takes you camping or builds obstacle courses for you. It's also what you'll be learning at the Academy." The whiskered blond's face fell, but the old man continued. "There is, however, one other trait that's important for a shinobi but can't be taught in the academy. Do you know what it is?" Wordless, the blond shook his head wildly, blond locks swishing back and forth. "A shinobi is someone with _heart_ : someone who endures trials to protect what's important to them. You've displayed a lot of maturity and bravery today, Naruto. I'm very proud of you and think you've earned the right to hear a very special story." With that, the old man held the scroll out to his favorite blond.

Naruto eagerly took the scroll, unrolling it to find an empty, white page. The blond quickly unfurled the entire thing, only to reveal an unblemished stretch of white paper, several feet long. Turning accusing blue eyes up toward the old man, the six-year-old pouted. "Why'd you give me a scroll with nothing on it, Jiji? There's no story here." After a second's consideration, he cast appraising, blue eyes over the paper again. "Is this another special kind of seal, like Kaka-nii did with my birthday present?"

Sarutobi nodded in agreement with the blond's assessment. "Your first thought was correct, my boy. There is nothing written on that scroll, not even with Kakashi's special fūinjutsu. I assure you though, it will be important after we finish our story. For now, you can roll it back up." As Naruto began to follow the old man's directions, Hiruzen began his tale with a question. "Naruto, what do you know about the other ninja villages, aside from Konoha?"

Still rolling the scroll, the blond looked to the ceiling, mentally reviewing. "Um, there's a lot of them, right? And they're all in different places. All over the world, 'ttebayo."

"That's true," the Sandaime nodded. "Many of the ninja villages that exist today came into existence many years ago, when I was the same age that you are now." At the gobsmacked expression on the blond's face, the Hokage chuckled. "Oh yes, much as Konohamaru will grow to be as big as you are, and you will grow to be as big as Kakashi, I was once a little boy, too." The old man shook his head wistfully before he continued, "But, we shouldn't let ourselves get distracted by musing on the passing years. Konohagakure, the first hidden village, was founded by the Uchiha and Senju clans, but it was soon followed by many others. First was Iwagakure to our north-west, then Sunagakure in the west. Kirigakure was founded next, hidden among the islands to the east, while Kumogakure was built in the mountains to the far north. These are the five largest shinobi villages, but they are not the only ones. Some shinobi clans didn't want to leave their homes to join with one of the five, despite the protection and wealth that being part of a village offers. These clans formed their own villages near their traditional homelands, taking what jobs came their way and building alliances with the stronger nations around them."

Naruto's hand waved wildly in the air, cutting off the old man's lecture. "Jiji, why didn't they wanna go to the villages? They should've come to live in Konoha. It's awesome here, dattebayo!"

"I'm quite glad to hear you say that, my boy," the old man beamed at Naruto's comment. "But I would wager that what you enjoy so much about Konoha are the memories you've made here and the people who have become part of your family, right? The same was true for these clans who founded the minor villages. Even if they weren't quite as well off, they loved their homes and didn't want to leave."

Naruto nodded his agreement. "Okay, I get it." Then, bright blue eyes focused on the Hokage's weathered face. "So, why do you gotta tell me all this, Jiji? Is it part of the story?"

Hiruzen nodded, glad that Naruto seemed interested in hearing the old man's tale. "I wanted to make sure that you understand how the ninja villages came to be. I want to tell you a about a special clan that helped found and keep the village of Konoha safe, even though they were never part of it. Instead, they made their own ninja village on an island just off the eastern coast of the Land of Fire." The Professor pulled his map of the ninja world onto his desk and pointed to the island, in question. "The village was called Uzushiogakure, and the clan was the Uzumaki."

Naruto gasped and began bouncing in his seat. "Hey Jiji, that's my name! I have a family? Where are they? Why don't I know any of them?" The blond paused for a moment, thinking, before his face fell. "They don't like me, do they? Did they get rid of me? I bet they said you have to like me because you're the Hokage and you have to be everyone's family."

"No, Naruto, that's not it at all," Sarutobi assured the boy, pulling the blond into a hug as blue eyes began to tear up. The pair sat in silence for several minutes with the old man gently tracing circles on the sniffling little boy's back. When Naruto's tense frame had relaxed, the Sandaime pulled the boy back and made eye contact. "Naruto, I apologize. Can you forgive this foolish old man for hurting you with his words?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his hand across his face, smearing the goop from his nose everywhere. The Hokage produced a handkerchief and held it up for the boy to blow his nose in. After a particularly long and loud blow, Naruto's face was mostly clean. As the old man folded the wet cloth on the side of his desk, Naruto looked at him with sad eyes. "Jiji, why did you talk about my family? Where are they? Don't they want me?"

The Sandaime gave a tired sigh and took off the Hokage's hat. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I was thoughtless when I spoke and didn't consider what you might conclude with limited information." He brought the boy back into a tight hug, willing Naruto to feel his love through the contact. When they broke apart after several seconds, Naruto's sky-blue eyes were more at peace, so Sarutobi continued. "There is a reason you have never met any of your clansmen, Naruto. Would you be willing to listen as I tell you about the Uzumaki clan and the founding of Konoha?"

The blond head nodded hesitantly, so the old man began to weave a tale of the Senju and Uzumaki clans' shared ancestry. He spoke of the Warring States era and the brutal conflict between clans that left many dead. The Sarutobi patriarch recalled Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju's vision of a peaceful place where children could grow up without the constant fear of war. Crafting a genjutsu from his memories, Hiruzen showed Naruto the founding of the village and the celebrations that followed. He told Naruto of all the clans that had made Konoha their home and the one that hadn't. The Sandaime spoke of how the Uzumaki had been invited to join Konoha but had declined the offer in favor of remaining in their island home. Despite this, they had been willing to share their expertise in fūinjutsu to help protect Konoha and to form an alliance for mutual aid. Finally, the old man told his charge of the Second Great Shinobi war and the sacking of Uzushio. With a slight tremor in his voice, he spoke of the evening that a messenger hawk had soared into the rookery carrying a request for aid that told of a sudden and vicious assault on the island village. The Hokage had personally led a force of several hundred of Konoha's finest to relieve their beleaguered allies but had arrived only to find the village already destroyed.

"So, you see, Naruto," the old man concluded sadly, "you were never unwanted. It's simply that I was unable to protect your family. I'm sorry that I couldn't save you from that."

The last Uzumaki sat, frozen in his seat, as he processed everything he'd heard. Wide blue eyes took in the hunched shoulders of his favorite old man as he pondered the haggard, mournful tone of voice that had accompanied the last admission. Silently easing himself off his chair, the little boy walked over and pulled himself onto the Sandaime's lap, standing so that the two were eye-to-eye. Then, it was Naruto's turn to grasp the old man like a lifeline, hugging as fiercely as his six-year-old arms could. "Jiji, thanks for telling me that story, 'ttebayo," Naruto's normally sunny voice whispered. "Thanks for telling me that I had a family. Thanks for trying to help them. I'm sad that my family's gone, but I can't be mad at you. You're part of my family too, and you tried to help the Uzumaki."

"Thank you for that, Naruto. You don't know how much that means to me," the old man whispered, silently reflecting on the other Uzumaki with whom he'd had this same conversation. As the pair broke apart, the old man chuckled as he looked at the clock on the wall. "Well, that took longer than I'd expected. Let's get you home, Naruto. You still have school tomorrow, after all."

"Aw, Jiji!" Naruto's whine was disgruntled enough to cause the old man to chuckle softly. "We can't be done yet! You haven't told me what the scroll's for, 'ttebayo! Besides, I don't wanna go to school tomorrow. I want you to tell me more about my family."

"There will be time for that after school tomorrow," the Hokage promised. "For now, you need to head to bed so that you can grow big and strong. But you can come visit me right after school finishes tomorrow. Bring the scroll and your calligraphy set, because I will tell you about one of the Uzumaki clan traditions that I know of."

"Really?! Yatta!" Naruto leapt back to his seat and grabbed the scroll, clutching it like a lifeline.

The old man chuckled to himself as he watched the blond run to grab his jacket from where it was hanging by the fire. Naruto truly was a miraculously kind child, if he was willing to forgive such spectacular failures so easily. _And_ , the Sandaime mused, _when the boy earns the right to call himself an Uzumaki, he will understand enough to learn more about his 'unique' situation._

* * *

"Hokage-sama, Uzumaki Naruto is here."

The Sandaime looked up from the report he had been going over, confusion etching deep lines on his face. "Is everything alright? It's only ten o'clock. He should be in school right now, Hiseko-san."

"I am very aware of that," the middle-aged woman's lips pursed in displeasure as she gave the news. "He brought this letter from his instructor." With a flourish, she offered a folded sheet of paper to the Sandaime.

Hiruzen accepted the page, curious to see what had happened. _Hokage-sama_ , the note began. _Uzumaki Naruto has been removed from the classroom today, as he has proven even more disruptive than usual. He was constantly fiddling with his supplies and paid no attention to our discussion. Additionally, he occasionally broke out in giggling fits, which distracted the entire class. When reprimanded, Uzumaki explained that he was excited to continue a discussion he had begun yesterday evening with you and would do so after the school day was finished. I dismissed him and gave him this note to pass on to you when he arrives at the end of the day. If I may, I would humbly request that any further conversations concerning this topic be completed when they are introduced, lest Uzumaki continue to disrupt his peers' learning. Yours, Nakamura Fujio_

As the Sandaime folded the note, frowning at the teacher's tone, Hiseko-san opened the door to reveal Naruto barely perched atop the chair across from the secretary's desk. Deep bags under his eyes showed that the boy hadn't really slept the previous night, but the blond still seemed awash with nervous energy that he was barely able to restrain. As soon as the door swung open, Naruto's blue eyes snapped to it, eagerness etched plainly on his chubby face. Small hands clenched a calligraphy set to the boy's chest, while the blank scroll from the previous evening peeked out of the backpack sitting beside the chair.

With a resigned sigh and a wistful smile, Sarutobi waved the boy into his office. "Come in, Naruto. Thank you for waiting outside with Hiseko-san."

The secretary held the door as Naruto raced into the office before she made eye contact with the Sandaime and quietly reminded him, "You have a meeting with Takagawa Kakū-sama at eleven, regarding his escort detail. I'll order you bento lunches for 12:30. Yamanaka Noriko-sama asked for the opportunity to speak with you yesterday about her clan purchasing a block of land that the village took possession of after the Kyūbi attack. I've scheduled her for two o'clock. At three, you have the meeting with the merchants' guild representatives about reducing the tax rate of foreign goods from the Land of Water." At the tired sigh and the assenting nod, she closed the door, leaving the Hokage alone with his favorite blond.

"Ohayō Jiji!" Naruto's voice was chipper, though the old man could hear the fatigue in the boy's voice. "Fujio-sensei decided to let me come talk to you before school was done today, dattebayo! He must have wanted me to have a break because I've been working so hard."

"He did, did he?" Hiruzen asked, bemused. "Are you sure it didn't have anything to do with you disrupting class, Naruto?" The old man held up wrinkled note from the instructor and Naruto's tan face paled slightly. "Fujio-san seems to think that you were being distracting to the rest of the class."

"It's not my fault, 'ttebayo." Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. "How am I supposed to pay attention when I'm gonna learn about my family after it's done? It's all super boring stuff, anyway."

The Sandaime was not impressed. "Naruto, you need to pay attention to what you're doing, even when you have something more enjoyable to look forward to later. When Kakashi is out on a mission, is it okay for him to not pay attention to what he's doing because he wants to be back in the village with you? Can I ignore an important client when I have dinner planned with you that evening?"

"No." Naruto's retort was sullen. "But Jiji, I really tried to pay attention. It was just so hard, 'ttebayo."

Sarutobi looked over the blond's face for a second before he sighed in resignation. "I suppose that I can't fault you too much. Fujio-san's note does say that you made a sincere effort to attend and participate in your class." Naruto visibly relaxed at the admission, though he still seemed tense. The old man could guess at some of the emotions at play in the blond: excitement to continue the discussion from yesterday, defensive anger at the accusation that he had purposefully caused trouble in class, apprehension about what other painful facts his Jiji might share tonight, and a deep weariness from having been unable to fall asleep the previous evening. _Well, there is no point sending the boy back to the academy now. He'll never be able to focus. Best just to get him some rest before the evening._

Rising, the Hokage went to one of the book shelves in his office, pulling a dusty scroll from where it had sat, unused, for many years. As he brought it back to his desk, the Sandaime addressed his ward. "Naruto, I would very much like to continue our discussion from last night. However, much as you needed to get through the school day, I also have obligations for today. So," with a puff of smoke, a sleeping mat, a pillow, and a blanket appeared on the old man's desk, "why don't you take a nap and I will wake you when I'm finished with my meetings. You don't look like you slept very well last night."

The blond smiled sheepishly. "I went to bed when I was supposed to, honest. I just kept thinking about having a family and I couldn't fall asleep."

"That's perfectly understandable." Sarutobi smiled and brought the pad over to where a sunbeam from the window was leaving a warm spot of the floor. Turning to Naruto, he winked and whispered conspiratorially, "I happen to know for a fact that this corner is a wonderful place for a nap. When Asuma and Hideko were little, they sometimes spent the day at the office with me. They loved to sleep curled up here while I took care of my meetings and paperwork."

Naruto hesitated for a second before he brought his armful over to the corner and carefully stored his brushes and inkwell within the bag. "We're really gonna talk about my family when I wake up?" the blond asked as he laid down. At Hiruzen's gentle nod, the boy grabbed the blanket and nestled in for a quick rest. "I'll only sleep for a little bit, Jiji. Then I'll help you be Hokage until you're done," the whiskered six-year-old murmured as he watched his Jiji run through four ninja hand signs in quick succession. _It really is a good spot_ , Naruto thought blearily to himself as the old man's genjutsu took hold and the tired six-year-old drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

Several hours later, Naruto found himself being gently shaken awake by Jiji, who wore an amused smile. The whiskered blond looked around, blinking sleep from his eyes as he took in the room around him. The early morning sunlight coming through the window had been replaced by a warm glow as the late afternoon sun sank below the horizon.

"How did you sleep, Naruto?" The Sandaime smiled as the boy stretched. "I told you that it's a good spot for a nap."

"It is, Jiji," the boy agreed as he scrubbed his eyes to clear them of sleep dust. After a second, a shock of energy seemed to run through his system and the golden blond hair and sky-blue eyes each became a touch more vibrantly colored. "You're done with your meetings, right Jiji?! That means you can tell me more about my family, 'ttebayo!"

Naruto's excited exclamations were cut short by a loud grumble from the boy's stomach. Hiruzen laughed and reached over to his desk where two boxed dinners sat wrapped in decorative cloth. "Hiseko-san was kind enough to procure a meal for us before she left for the evening. Now, we can stay in and talk about the Uzumaki until you need to head home."

Naruto nodded happily and moved over to the seat that had been set up near the Sandaime's desk. Depositing his backpack by the side of the chair, small fingers undid the cloth wrapping for the lunch and the boy began to eat the prepared curry and rice meal with gusto. Looking up at the old man, who was eating far more slowly than his counterpart, Naruto started the conversation. "Sho, whass ya goa te re 'bowt da Uzuahi, Jiji?" At the old man's disappointed frown, the whiskered boy hastily swallowed and tried again. "So, what are you gonna tell me about the Uzumaki, Jiji?"

Finishing his bite, the Sandaime addressed the boy. "Well, Naruto, I think that we ought to wait until we're finished with our dinner, but then I'd like you to tell me what you remember from our talk yesterday." Naruto nodded excitedly and began to stuff the rest of his dinner into bulging cheeks as quickly as he could. At the Sandaime's stern look, the blond grinned sheepishly and resumed eating at a slightly slower pace.

Several minutes later, Naruto had finished his dinner and, at the Sandaime's nod he began to recite what he remembered from the previous evening's conversation. "The Uzumaki are my family. They're a ninja clan. They lived on an island called Uzu no Kuni, an' they called their village Uzu-something too, dattebayo! They're friends with the Senju clan and helped build Konoha, but they didn't move here. I think you said that the Shodai Hokage's wife was an Uzumaki, though, right?" The reigning Hokage nodded in affirmation and the little boy continued. "Their island was attacked by a bunch of ninja and they all died a lotta years ago. Now, I'm the only Uzumaki there is, 'ttebayo." The boy's whiskered face drooped in sadness for a moment before he raised his head and continued with blue eyes shining. "But the circles on the ninja vests are the Uzumaki symbol. They help all the people in Konoha remember their friends. And, I'm gonna learn all about what it means to be an Uzumaki and I'm gonna make my family proud!"

"I'm sure you would already make them proud, Naruto," Sarutobi replied to the blond's declaration. "That was a good summary of the basics, my boy. Do you remember what we talked about before that?"

Naruto's brow scrunched up in concentration as he tried to dig past the incredibly relevant information about his family to recall what else had been part of the day's conversation. "Wasn't it about that girl I helped?"

Hiruzen nodded. "That was what we discussed immediately preceding the conversation about your family, but it wasn't what I had in mind with my question. What do you remember from our discussion about clan coming-of-age traditions?" Naruto's response to the question was a blank stare, so the Sandaime tried again to prompt the boy's memory. "You had met a boy as you waited in line to turn in your paperwork for the ninja academy? He was part of the Inuzuka clan and said he'd be getting a puppy in time for classes to start?"

"Ooooh! Kibble!" Naruto ginned at the memory. "He seemed pretty fun. I hope he's in my class."

"I imagine that Kibble wasn't his actual name, Naruto." Sarutobi sighed as the six-year-old grinned up at him unrepentantly. "What was it that I told you about him getting a puppy?"

Naruto's face screwed up in concentration as he tried to remember that part of the conversation. Eventually, he offered a hesitant answer. "Er, was it something about how he was a big kid because he got to take care of the puppy?"

"Close enough," the Hokage agreed. "I told you that many clans have coming-of-age challenges that they present to younger members in order to officially become part of the clan."

"Oh yeah!" Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "You said that his clan trusted him to be responsible, so they were gonna let him have a puppy, 'ttebayo." After a second, blue eyes flew open and Naruto finally saw the connection that his Jiji had been trying to make. "Wait! Does that mean you're gonna give me a dog too, Jiji? 'Cause I'm gonna be in the academy and I have to be responsible? I'm gonna be a ninja, after all, so I'm super responsible, dattebayo! I do all my homework, and I pay attention in class, and I eat my vegetables, even if they're gross. I…"

Naruto's rambling was interrupted as he noticed the old man waving to catch his attention. "You're nearly correct, my boy," the Sandaime clarified. "Taking care of a puppy is a rite of the Inuzuka clan, and you are the last of the Uzumaki clan. Thus, I have something different in mind for you."

"Oooh, whatisitwhatisitwhatisit?" Naruto launched himself out of his chair onto the Hokage's lap, fairly vibrating from the eagerness etched on his face.

"Well, let's see if you can guess," Sarutobi chuckled, having expected this reaction. "What did I say that the Uzumaki were particularly skilled at last evening?"

"Um, you said they were really happy," Naruto offered.

"They were an energetic and happy clan," the old man agreed. "They displayed incredible life energy that allowed them to live much longer than other ninja. Uzumaki Mito-sama outlived her husband, the Shodai Hokage by nearly twenty years. Their life energy allowed some Uzumaki to heal others quite proficiently, as well as to withstand normally fatal wounds." As Naruto's eyes grew big, the Sarutobi elder continued. "That wasn't what I had in mind, however. I also told you that the Uzumaki were particularly skilled as users of fūinjutsu, Naruto."

"Oh," Naruto paused for a second before he looked at the old man in confusion. "Jiji, how do I get to be an Uzumaki with fūinjutsu?"

"Well," the Hokage answered, "I knew several Uzumaki before the village fell, including an old man who was the clan head. He told me that a child may consider themselves to be an Uzumaki after they make their first storage scroll."

"What's that?" Naruto cocked his head to the side, confusion written plainly on his features.

"Well, do you remember how I pulled the sleeping mat out of the scroll today?" Naruto nodded hesitantly and the Sandaime continued. "The mat, the blanket, and the pillow were sealed into my scroll with fūinjutsu, like the picture in Kakashi's gift to you." Grabbing the scroll in question, the old man brought it over to where Naruto had napped that afternoon. The blond followed silently, blue eyes wide and eager. Kneeling, the Hokage smoothed the bedroll and folded the blanket before channeling a bit of chakra to the seals inked on the scroll. After a puff of smoke, the floor was clear, and the three previously empty seals once again bore the kanji for 'full'. "If you can create your own storage seal like this one," the Sandaime began, "I will officially induct you into the Uzumaki clan."

"Yatta!" Naruto leapt into the air and began to run back to his bag, eager to begin. Suddenly he stopped short. "Jiji, I don't know how to make the seal."

"Ah," Hiruzen smiled. "I'm glad you realized that before you started working. That scroll I gave you yesterday is your official practice scroll for the storage seal." Seating himself, the elder accepted the object in question when Naruto offered it and rolled out a length a little longer than the width of his shoulders. "First, make sure you don't write anything here until you're ready to show me that you can create the seal. The rest of the scroll is for you to practice on, but I want you to make sure you keep this section until you're confident you can do it."

"Okay, Jiji," Naruto agreed, reaching for the scroll. Once he had it in hand, however, the blond blushed. "Ano, I still don't know how to do it, Jiji. How do I make the seal?"

"With lots of practice," the old man smiled at Naruto's aggravated groan. "Sealing is a very precise art, and I want to make sure that you're being safe as you work at it. Besides, Gekage-kun, I have full faith that you'll be able to create the seal, if you practice enough. Now, the first thing we need to do is make sure that you're able to control the amount of chakra that you're pushing into the brush. Do you remember…?"

As the ninja who had earned the epitaph of 'the Professor' began to instruct his newest pupil, Sarutobi smiled to see the determination in Naruto's face. _Yes_ , the old man reflected, _Naruto would put his heart and soul into learning this seal._ And when he did, the Hokage would make sure the boy knew enough of the mechanics of sealing that the pair could have an uncomfortable, but necessary, conversation about another seal.


	11. Chapter 11

"Well, Naruto, we're here. Are you ready?"

Naruto's wide blue eyes surveyed the scene before him with wonder and excitement. _This was the best thing ever, dattebayo!_ He and Jiji had just finished their traditional pre-first-day-of-school breakfast and walked up to the grounds of the academy to find children from all over Konoha arrayed with their parents around the yard. Nearest the pair stood a cluster of people whose eyes were hidden behind a collection of dark sunglasses. Jiji identified them as the Aburame, a clan whose ninja techniques worked in tandem with insectoid companions. A little beyond that was a family with wild, unkempt hair laughing loudly in a circle and accompanied by a pack of dogs. The old man said they were the Inuzuka. The blond thought he recognized his friend from the registration line standing in the middle of the circle, a tiny puppy clutched tightly to his chest. Beyond the representatives from the clans, smaller families were scattered throughout the crowd, parents and siblings arrayed around the new student and glowing with pride. No matter whether they were of notable background or not, all present buzzed with an excited energy that spoke to the day's significance. Today these children would start to travel down the path of the ninja! Naruto puffed with pride at the thought.

The boy broke from his giddy musings as he felt a gentle touch on his arm and turned to find Jiji grinning at him. "It's quite exciting, isn't it?" The old man's knowing smile was met with an enthusiastic nod. "Naruto, I'm going to go say a few words to the crowd to start the term. Would you like to come with me, or do you want to stay here?"

"I want to go with you, Jiji," came the blond's enthusiastic reply. "Can I talk, too?"

"Unfortunately, no." The Hokage chuckled at Naruto's enthusiasm. "You'll have to save your motivational speeches for later, Gekage-kun. I would be glad to have you walk me to the front of the building, though."

Naruto pouted at being denied, but quickly brightened at the prospect of being closer to the front of the crowd. Thus, he accepted the offered hand and the pair slowly made their way to the front of the building, stopping along the way so that the Sandaime could greet those who called out to him. While the Hokage spoke with a scarred man whose coarse, black hair was tied up in a bushy ponytail, Naruto was introduced to the skinny boy with him, Nara Shikamaru. The blond also met several of Jiji's clansmen and was reintroduced to Uchiha Fugaku, who still looked somewhat grumpy, despite accompanying a smiling, dark-haired boy named Sasuke.

After his brief conversations, Sarutobi politely declined all further calls for his time and the pair made their way to a spot just outside the doors of the academy. There the Hokage dropped Naruto's hand with a comforting smile and ran through a quick series of hand signs. Naruto watched in awe as a small mound grew out of the dirt to lift the old man several feet into the air. When he could see everyone, and the quiet murmur had faded to a respectful silence, the Professor began to address his audience. "Welcome, one and all to this exciting morning. It is my pleasure and my privilege to see so many bright, young faces here today. These children are the future of the village." The old man paused for a moment to let the appreciative applause fade away before he resumed. "It takes a special kind of person to choose the life of a ninja. Shinobi are those who endure: who experience great trial and hardship. They face adversity and choose to stand firm instead of crumbling under the onslaught. The reason they choose to do so is simple: they cannot bear to consider the alternative. The Will of Fire that burns in the heart of all loyal Konoha shinobi reminds us that this village is our home, and it is the home of those we hold dear. To give up in the face of adversity means to abandon those we love. To you who are here today to start your career, I want to thank you for the gift you have given to all of us. One day you may be called upon to defend our home, and I know that the skills you learn here at the academy will allow you to do that. Study hard and know that we are immensely proud of you." The old man bowed to thunderous applause, and the earthen mound he had created sunk back to ground level. Walking over to a quiet Naruto, the old man smiled. "Well, my boy, what did you think?"

"It was good, Jiji," the blond responded absently, deep in thought.

The Sandaime nudged the whiskered six-year-old, who started and looked guiltily up at the old man. "What's on your mind, Gekage-kun?" The Hokage's gentle question drew an embarrassed grin from the whiskered child.

"I was just thinking about what you said, Jiji." Naruto's right hand absently rubbed the back of his head as he carefully explained his thinking, trying to bring form to a vague idea. "I know the Hokage's the best ninja, so he's gotta do those things you talked about better than all the other ninja, 'ttebayo. That's why my da- the Yondaime died to save the village. He decided that it was more important to him to protect the people here than to be alive." Naruto looked around furtively to make sure that his accidental slip hadn't been heard by any of the crowd around them. When no one reacted, clearly too interested in their own conversations to pay attention to the small blond, the boy relaxed and turned his sky-blue eyes up to the Hokage's suddenly tired face. "I was trying to think what I can do like that. Remember how you told me it's really hard to actually start to do something later?" The old man nodded, so the blond continued. "I can't say I'll protect people when I'm a ninja if I don't do it now, too. But, I don't know how I can protect people right now, dattebayo."

The frustration in the boy's voice caused the old man to stop and consider before he answered. "I think," came the slow reply, "that you've started doing that already, Naruto." At the blond's curious look, the Sandaime squatted down in the dirt and reached a wrinkled hand to brush across Naruto's whiskered cheeks. "Do you remember when you came into my office and were so excited to have saved your princess? Your eye was nearly swollen shut, and you had some very dark bruises." The blond nodded hesitantly, not sure where the old man was going with his story. "That day, I was so proud of you, because you did exactly what I talked about today. You protected someone else, putting yourself in harm's way so that they didn't get hurt. I know you didn't win the fight," the old man cut across the objection he could see written on Naruto's face. "But, you fought for someone else. That shows me that you will one day be a wonderful ninja of Konoha. You won't always be storming castles or rescuing princesses, my boy. Some days, you might be performing package retrieval or message delivery. Eventually, you might even be teaching your own team of Genin. The important thing is to do everything with the intention of taking care of the people you care about. For now, you need to go and learn the skills you'll use when you do those things later. Be nice to the people in your class and make new friends. Stand up and say something when you see others being mistreated. After all, they're going to be part of your family one day." With a smile at Naruto's nod, Sarutobi stood and gave the blond a small push in the back as he pointed across the yard. "Now it's time for class, Gekage-kun. I believe that gentleman will be your instructor this year."

Blue eyes followed the Hokage's pointing finger to where a big, portly man with a small, brown goatee was standing with a sign that said "Funeno Daikoku" in neatly written kana. Looking around, the blond realized that a group of teachers had come out of the building and were holding signs labelled with their names. Several students started to drift away from their families, which quickly became a flood of six-year-olds, as the rest of the crowd caught on and went to find their instructors. Naruto and Hiruzen shared a quick hug before the whiskered boy joined the throng and pushed his way through to the crowd forming around the man Jiji had said was his sensei.

Once he had joined the group clustered around the dark-haired instructor, Naruto looked around, taking note of the faces of his classmates. There were some he recognized from his classes at the civilian academy, such as Sakura-chan, Hibachi, and Ami. Others were completely new to the blond. Looking around, the blond focused on the grinning face of his friend from the registration line and the boy Jiji had introduced him to several minutes previously. _Shikamaru, that was his name, 'ttebayo_. Naruto's grin threatened to split his face in half when he realized that the two boys were calling him over to join them and another boy with spirals tattooed on his cheeks.

Running over, the blond was greeted by Shikamaru, who smiled easily in greeting. "Your name was Naruto, right? Who would have guessed that we'd be in class together? With so many people starting today, I figured I'd never see you again." The black-haired boy then proceeded to introduce the other two boys in their circle. "This is my best friend, Akimichi Chōji. That's Inuzuka Kiba and his ninja dog."

"His name's Akamaru!" Kiba interjected when Shikamaru neglected to provide the puppy's name. Settling the small great pyrenes on the ground, the boy smiled, unconsciously baring over-large canines at the blond. "See? I told you I'd get a puppy. I'm an official member of the Inuzuka clan now." The boy threw out his skinny chest in pride as he spoke, clearly hoping that the others would recognize and comment on what an accomplishment this was.

"What a drag," Shikamaru replied. "Chōji and I are clan kids, too, you know. We've both got our own clan training, as well." Then, turning to Naruto, the young Nara explained. "I don't know if Hokage-sama told you or not, but most clans have special training for their kids. My clan, the Nara, uses shadows for our jutsu. I had to show that I can change the shape of my shadow."

"That's right," Chōji took the opportunity to insert himself into the conversation. Though he was bigger than most children in their class huddle, the young Akimichi hesitated when he spoke, conscious that his size was due to his girth, far more than his height. "My clan uses jutsu that let us grow bigger. My dad showed me the first exercise last week."

"What, really?!" Naruto zeroed in on Chōji's comment. "Can you show us?" Puppies were well and good, and Shikamaru's shadow stuff sounded kind of cool, but being able to get taller whenever you wanted? That was a jutsu worth seeing.

Smiling self-consciously, Chōji stepped away from the other boys and closed his eyes, folding thick hands into a modified hand seal. After a moment, the auburn-haired boy began to grow until he was nearly six inches taller than normal. He stayed like that for several seconds before letting out a grunt, rapidly shrinking to his normal size. "It's really hard to stay big like that," the boy offered the small circle, breathing deeply and wiping some perspiration from his brow.

Naruto's enthusiastic reply was cut short by a boisterous shout from the man at the center of the crowd. "Alright, kids. I'm Daikoku-sensei. If you're in my class, follow me. If not, go see one of the ladies standing over there," here the big man pointed to a pair of kunoichi waiting to the side of the academy doorway who waved politely. "They'll help you figure out which class you're supposed to be in." Waving his class into the building, Daikoku-sensei led the way to a classroom on the second floor, which he opened for the excited six-year-olds. "This is where we're going to be, kids. Come in and sit down. We'll do introductions in a second."

Naruto managed to sit himself close to his new friends but ended up being the odd man out for the three-person benches and was forced to sit a row lower. Turning to introduce himself to the person seated next to him, the whiskered boy's face scrunched up in confusion. His seatmate was a small girl whose dark hair stood in stark contrast to pale skin. Something about her tickled at the blond's memory. "Hey, do I know you from somewhere?" The question was much louder than the whisper that had been intended, but it served the intended effect of causing Naruto's bench mate to look up at him. Blue eyes met lavender, and the blond's brain went into overdrive. "It's you! You're the princess, 'ttebayo!" Fortunately for Naruto, the rest of the class was still finding their seats and Daikoku-sensei hadn't yet made his way to the chalkboard. Nevertheless, the blond's exclamation earned him several strange looks from his classmates, namely his new friends seated a row behind him. Kiba seemed amused, while Chōji was more curious. Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow before resting his chin on his hand and settling in to observe the interaction. Naruto was too excited to notice any of these reactions, however, as he immediately pressed close to the girl, eagerness compelling him to make up for having forgotten to become friends with her earlier. "You're okay, right? I should have made sure you were okay before I left that day. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo! What's your name? Do you want to be friends? Oh, why are your eyes like that? Can you see me? Can –?"

Naruto's barrage of questions was interrupted by the door closing with a snap. Looking up, the blond saw that the rest of his classmates had finished filing into the room. Daikoku-sensei stood at the board, a big smile on his face. Hurriedly, the whiskered boy returned to the part of the bench behind his school supplies, attention now fixed on the instructor. Thus, it was that he missed his bench-mate take several deep breaths to compose herself, a definite flush working its way off her face. No one at home got quite that close to her aside from her late mother. Her rescuer's sudden closeness had been… surprising.

"Welcome to the ninja academy," the chubby sensei began. "As Hokage-sama said just a bit ago, you're here to learn the skills you'll need as a shinobi of Konoha. In this classroom, we'll practice theory and other basic ninja skills. We also have training grounds here at the academy, where you'll learn ninja martial arts, called taijutsu, weapon techniques, called bukijutsu, and chakra techniques, called ninjutsu." Pausing, the veteran instructor smiled at the rustle of excitement that ran through his class. "Many of the things we learn will be best reinforced by working with your classmates outside of regular school hours. As such, I'd like to start the term off by performing introductions. We'll take turns, so that each person can say their name and something important about yourself that you want other people to know. Everyone, please take a moment to think of that special thing to share with the class." The room broke out in muted whispers as the children compared ideas with their neighbors about what to tell the group. After a minute, Daikoku-sensei brought the class back to order. Looking down at his roll sheet, the thickset man read the first name. "Akimichi Chōji. You're up."

Rising, the Akimichi heir slowly made his way to the front of the classroom, where he looked hesitantly around at his classmates. Taking note of the smiling faces of his new friends, the boy began. "Nice to meet you. I'm Akimichi Chōji." Chōji's voice was quiet, but it rose in volume as he spoke. "Um, I'm part of the Akimichi clan, but the thing you need to know about me is that… I won't forgive you if you eat the last bit of my snack!"

The last comment was made with such unexpected intensity that the class paused before bursting out in excited giggling, as Chōji hurriedly made his way back to his seat next to Shikamaru. After a moment, Daikoku-sensei looked down at his list and called "Aburame Shino-kun" down to share. Shino turned out to be far more mild-mannered (though no less strange) than Chōji, simply sharing that he had an aversion to insecticides and being left out of social activities. Ikeda Kei spoke about being the oldest of three brothers and his desire to help support his family when he became a proper ninja, and Kiba boasted loudly that he and Akamaru would be the best partners the Inuzuka clan had ever seen.

Then it was Naruto's turn. The grinning blond scrambled excitedly down the stairs to the front of the classroom, where he turned to face the class. Once in front of them, the whiskered boy's nerves caught up with him and he had to take a moment to calm himself before he looked around and saw the smiling faces of his new friends. Reaffixing his goofy smile to his face, the Hokage's ward began his short introduction. "Hiya, my name's Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo. I'm gonna be the Hokage one day: the best Hokage ever!"

The room paused, much the way that it had with Chōji's comment, though the explosion that followed wasn't one of muted laughter, but of outrage. "There's no way you'll be the Hokage! The Hokage's got to be someone strong, not a shrimp like you!" The voice of Hibachi, Naruto's chief tormentor from the civilian academy, grew above the general din as the beefy boy stood up and pointed an accusing finger at the blond standing in front of the class.

"Jiji says I can, Hibachi! And he knows, too. He's the Hokage, after all." Naruto stick out his tongue at his antagonist. "But you can just leave the village when they make me Hokage, if you don't like it."

"Alright, that's enough." Daikoku cut off the impending argument between his students and patted Naruto on the shoulder. "Uzumaki, why don't you return to your seat? The rest of your classmates would also like to introduce themselves."

Naruto made his way back to his seat, grumbling the entire way. When he had seated himself with a huff, the blond watched as Uchiha Sasuke introduced himself. Blinking slightly at the other boy's declaration that he would take over as the chief of the Konoha Military Police Force one day, the whiskered boy had to admit that his dark-haired classmate seemed determined to get the job. He also hadn't joined in ridiculing the Uzumaki orphan's decision to become Hokage, either. _Maybe, when Naruto was Hokage, he'd let Sasuke be the police chief._

The rest of the introductions proceeded much the same way, with most students providing some of their family background, as well as sharing their goals for the future. Naruto learned that Shikamaru hated his mother telling him what to do, that Sakura-chan's pretty hair was like her dad's, and that his bench mate was named Hyūga Hinata. The small girl haltingly explained that her pale eyes were a family trait, called the Byakugan, and that she could, in fact, see very well. Naruto smiled broadly when he concluded that the dark-haired girl was using her time at the front of the class to answer his questions, not knowing that it was something of a tradition for Hyūga children to need to assure their classmates that they weren't ill or blind when they started at the academy.

To return the friendly gesture, Naruto dug into his bag and produced a pencil and clean notebook that Jiji had bought him for school. When Hinata returned to her seat, the blond wrote a quick message and showed it to her. _Thanks for answering my questions. It was nice of you._ The young girl blushed and nodded happily before turning her attention back to the front of the room.

Naruto turned back to the front as well but found that his attention wandered when he didn't particularly know or like anyone who was speaking. Creating a little game for himself, the blond took to writing a kanji to represent the thing each classmate had shared about themselves. Hibachi earned the title of 'shellfish' for his allergy, while Yamanaka Ino became 'flower' when she shared that her family owned and operated a flower shop. Looking back over the sheet, the whiskered boy began to add extra kanji for the people who had already spoken, taking special care as he traced out 'fire' for himself. By the time the class was dismissed to eat their lunch, the first page of Naruto's notebook was filled with notes about the class.

On their way out the door, Kiba paused so that his new friend could join him. "Naruto, what were you doing while everybody was talking?" Naruto handed the taller boy his notebook, which the brown-haired Inuzuka looked over with a raised eyebrow. "Man, I didn't figure you'd be a goody-two-shoes. He was taking notes during class," the scruffy, brown-haired boy responded to Shikamaru's raised eyebrow, tossing the notebook at the other boy, which the Nara failed to catch.

While Naruto sputtered indignantly, Shikamaru picked the book off the ground and resumed walking outside, idly perusing the page. "Kiba, he's only a goody-two-shoes if he was doing it so that sensei would notice and be happy with him. Maybe it was just a way to pay attention. I saw you yawning before we even got halfway through introductions." Tired eyes scanned the page and came to rest on Naruto's personal identifier. Tracing it with a finger, the black-haired boy looked up at his whiskered classmate. "Hey, Naruto, why do you want to be Hokage? My dad says that it's a hard job. If anything goes wrong, everyone's mad at you, and you always have to be working."

Naruto froze at the question, falling a step behind the group. Shikamaru's question sounded uncomfortably similar to one that Hibachi had asked last year. The whiskered boy had, after much prodding, confided in Hibachi and some other boys that he wanted to be Hokage because then he would have a family, and they had teased him mercilessly for weeks before Kaka-nii had 'taken care of it'. Whatever had happened, the bullies didn't even seem to remember Naruto's admission, and the blond was grateful for his big brother's help. Deciding to avoid a repeat of that event (even if Shikamaru was nicer about it than Hibachi had ever been), Naruto mentally cast around for another explanation.

Seeing the panicked look on the blond's face, the black-haired Nara decided to steer the conversation another direction. "Eh, nevermind. I'm just saying that it seems like it'd be a lot more trouble than it's worth." Handing the notebook back to a relieved looking Naruto, Shikamaru decided to ask another question that the quick perusal of the blond's notebook had raised. As the group stepped outside to the playground and settled underneath the shade of one of the trees on the school grounds, the young Nara commented, "Your handwriting is as neat as my tutor's, Naruto. How'd you get it to look like that?"

The blond puffed up at the praise. "You think so, Shikamaru? I practice every day. I'm gonna learn fūinjutsu just like the Yondaime, so Jiji says I need to have good handwriting." Reaching into his bag, Naruto grabbed the bento that Hiseko-san had bought for him and his clan fūinjutsu practice scroll. Unrolling the second item, the Uzumaki boy showed his new friends some of his work. "There used to be an Uzumaki clan that helped make Konoha. Jiji told me that the Uzumaki were good at fūinjutsu, so I'm learning how to do it, too. It's like how you all get to learn stuff for your clan. I'm trying to make a storage scroll so I can carry a lot of stuff in a piece of paper."

The other boys made appreciative comments and began to talk about their own experiences with their families' traditions. Munching on sliced cucumber sandwiches and salmon-stuffed onigiri, Naruto mentally evaluated his morning. Daikoku-sensei didn't seem that much nicer than Akari-sensei or Fujio-sensei had been, but the blond had yet to be thrown out of the classroom, which was a definite improvement. Hibachi and Ami were still in his class, but there were some cool people as well. The school building wasn't that different, but the things they would be learning seemed much more interesting than what had been covered in civilian school. Overall, Naruto decided that his initial assessment had been correct: the academy was awesome _._

* * *

"Orochimaru-sama, Gaichūmaru has returned."

Slitted yellow eyes looked up from a collection of scattered pages to regard the ninja who had come bearing news. Straightening, the man known as Orochimaru smirked at the messenger. "Oh, he has, has he? Send him to my office. I'll hear his report when I've finished up here." The man at the door bowed and left as the figure whose serpentine features and familiars had earned him the title of the Sannin no Hebi returned his attention to the figure strapped to the table in front of him. The pale man licked his lips in anticipation. "Now, where were we?" Moments later, the prisoner's whimpering turned to screams, and his tormentor began a deep, hissing chuckle. The two sounds echoed ominously down the halls of the underground lab, playing off each other and sending shivers up the spine of anyone in earshot.

Several hours later, the snake summoner walked into his office to find a flustered-looking rat of a man seated in front of the large stone desk. Smiling to himself as his suboordinate's fidgeting increased, Orochimaru stopped to savor the terror that his mere presence evoked in his minions. Danzo might eradicate emotions to instill obedience, but the Sannin preferred to utilize fear. Idly reflecting that such a mindset might have been why Sarutobi-sensei refused to nominate his prized student to be the Yondaime Hokage, the pale man mentally shrugged. Losing the hat to that upstart Namikaze had been more of an inconvenience than anything; the resources he would have had access to as the Hokage would have been useful, though the hat itself was worthless.

Eventually, the small man's fidgeting rose to a fever pitch and drew Orochimaru's attention back to the present moment. "So, Gaichūmaru, what news do you bring me from our contact in Konoha?"

The ratty man blanched but succeeded in limiting his nervous twitching to the leather holster strapped to his leg, where he began anxiously opening and closing the clasp as he responded. "Orochimaru-sama, Yami-sama sent me back with this." Jittery hands offered a sealed envelope to Orochimaru as the Sannin glided across the room and seated himself behind the desk. The snake summoner took the file and gestured that his subordinate should continue speaking while he perused the documents in the folder. "At first, he said that we should take our 'recruits' from one of the older classes who are about ready to graduate, but I told him you wanted some of the first-years."

Gaichūmaru suddenly found himself unable to speak further, pinned in place by the sheer force of his master's presence. When Orochimaru spoke, his voice was soft and dangerous. "I find myself curious, Gaichūmaru: why did you presume to tell your contact that I would want to move forward with the youngest class of students? _I_ know I've never given you leave to make decisions on my behalf before. And _you_ should be able to understand that younger children will have less experience using their family's techniques and will, therefore, be less suited to my needs. So please tell me, Gaichūmaru, why shouldn't I send a new messenger to the next rendevous with our partner to explain that your arrogance in deciding things above your station has made you permanently unavailable?"

The small man began to sweat heavily, realizing that his life depended on what he said next. "It's true, I know, that your lordship wants to experiment with children who know more techniques, but here's the thing: your lordship has told me that there's also a lot to do with the purity of the bloodline for your work, and for that you want these youngsters. The oldest group has four classes, but each one only has, at most, four clan kids, and most of those only have one parent who's from the clan. The youngest group, on the other hand, that's a proper gold mine. There's a class where, all told, there's five clan heirs and two second sons. If you want to explore the secrets of Konoha's clans, it's the best group. 'Sides, if they're little, they won't be able to fight back as much."

When he had finished, Gaichūmaru felt silent, awaiting his master's judgement. Orochimaru pondered for a long second, pale face impassive as yellow, slitted eyes inspected the dirty man across from him. Then, just as his subordinate once again began to fiddle nervously with the weapons pouch on his leg, the snake summoner spoke. "How did you come across this information, Gaichūmaru? None of the correspondence you have brought from Konoha have said anything about such a group."

A look of relief crossed the ratty man's face, even as he rushed to answer the question. "Beggin' your pardon, but I don't like that treehugger, Orochimaru-sama. His help feels like it's been mainly sideways, instead of forward. I think he intends to take us for fools. I decided to stop for a drink near the school on my way into town, and I heard some of the Genin who work in the Hokage's tower talking about it. Turns out, there's an Uzumaki brat who's also part of the class. Something must be wrong with that one, though, because they were saying that it shouldn't be put in a class with so many important kids. I dropped a line at a different place about how my 'dear, sweet, little Kaeda-kun' was going to be starting at the academy next year. One of those Akimichi blowhards said that if he'd been born a year earlier, he might have been in good company with a proper who's who of Konoha's clans. Didn't do any more digging, but when Yami-sama said we should take the oldest kids, I called his bluff and told him you wanted the little ones." The small man finished with a nod, pleased that his master seemed to approve of his proactive approach.

That impression lasted until a huge, green serpent slithered out of Orochimaru's sleeve. "Gaichūmaru, I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I am," the Sannin drawled, as the reptile made its way across the desk and began to wrap itself around the whimpering man seated there. "I had very specific expectations as to what you would communicate to our temporary associate, and you've failed to meet those expectations. Now the Shinobi no Yami knows that I'm aware of the youngest crop of talent from Konoha, and he'll be on his guard. Oh yes," the pale man replied dismissively at the wide-eyed look from his subordinate, "I'm already aware of the membership of that particular class, just as I am of our _ally's_ efforts to steer our attention away from it. Danzo has none of his own clan members in attendance there, so he'll be unable to pretend the same measure of indignant outrage when he fails to stop us. Beyond the old fossil's political inconvenience, your assessment was correct. The purest sampling of bloodlines in Konoha can be found there, all in one place. It is the true prize we desire." For the second time that day, the Sannin licked his lips, this time at the thought of such exceptional research subjects.

A pained gasp from the small man let Orochimaru know that his pet had begun to squeeze. "I must admit, however: I'm impressed with both your observations and your loyalty. You've discovered many things to which I thought you would remain ignorant and sought to turn them to my advantage." Seemingly heedless of the man's hoarse wheezing, the Sannin continued, unperturbed. "Your assessment of our compatriot is correct: Danzo doubtless means to betray us. Whether he would have his Root intercept our team before they secure the children or sabotage our agents' escape, he gains nearly as much with far lower impact to the resources he values if he stops us before we remove the children from the village. If he can direct us to lower-value targets, his situation improves further." Yellow eyes focused on the struggling man and Orochimaru allowed his irritation to leak into his voice. "Which is why it was so very important to make sure that he continued to believe he had deceived us."

The constrictor tightened further, and Gaichūmaru's bones creaked in protest. The man's dirty face lost what little color it had, as the last of his breath left him. "You've given me much to do, Gaichūmaru, and that's not something I appreciate. However, for your initiative, you will have one chance to redeem yourself." Orochimaru extended a pale finger and the serpent grudgingly released its victim to slither back up its master's sleeve. The small man fell on the floor, desperately sucking air back into his lungs. Silky, black hair swung in a fan as the taller man rose from his desk and strode out the door. "You should be happy, Gaichūmaru. You wanted to be involved with bigger and better things, and now you are. Once you catch your breath, come to the library. There, you will find a collection of resources detailing fūinjutsu and its applications in space-time techniques laid out. Master that material in a week and report to me for your new role in the plan. If you succeed, you will have the power and authority you crave. If you fail, well…" The snake summoner left as his servant struggled to maintain consciousness, the price of failure clearly understood, despite being unstated.


	12. Chapter 12

_Riiiing!_

Naruto opened bleary, blue eyes to find that he had, apparently, fallen asleep at his kitchen table last night. Idly, the whiskered almost-seven-year-old realized that his table was a mess: crumpled paper spilled over the sides from where he had thrown away rejected attempts to complete his homework. Looking around, the blond picked out the more neatly stacked pile of completed work that he had set aside before beginning last night's real project: the storage seal that would cement his status as an Uzumaki. Most of the table was covered with the unrolled expanse of the scroll Jiji had given him several months ago. Naruto's practice of the different brush strokes and symbols required to replicate the seal he had been shown months ago had filled nearly every inch of the paper, only sparing the space at the front which Jiji set aside for the finished product. All his efforts had paid off, however, as the last Uzumaki felt confident that today he would be able to show the Sandaime his progress and become an 'official' member of his clan.

Naruto's musings were cut short, however, by a banging on his floorboards from his downstairs neighbor, Shibata-obaasan. "Stop that racket," the scratchy voice cried from below the floorboards. "Cut it out, or I'll complain to the building manager." Rushing to his bedroom, the blond hurriedly quieted the alarm. The screeching stopped, as did the banging, but Naruto could still hear some muffled cursing through the floorboards. "Damn gaki. Sets an alarm for six thirty in the morning, when decent folks are all fast asleep and then …" The commentary died off in volume as the old woman apparently stumped into her kitchen to continue complaining there. Naruto was continually confused by Shibata-obaasan. She always seemed to be awake before he was, but she also complained that his alarm woke her up. She didn't seem to like anything about where she lived (including Naruto, despite his initial attempts to be polite), but didn't move anywhere else. Jiji said it had to do with something called "rent" and "housing prices".

Choosing to ignore the quirks of strange, old women for the moment, Naruto made his way to the bathroom to prepare for the day. There, he realized why Jiji told him that it was important to go to bed before you fell asleep over your work. The blond's whiskers had been joined by an array of smudged kanji and swirls from where he had used his seal work as a pillow. Doing some quick mental math while he scrubbed his face clean and brushed his teeth, the last Uzumaki calculated that he should be able to go show his work to Jiji before school started, but only if he skipped breakfast. After a quick shower, Naruto got dressed in his favorite outfit: a once pristine white shirt decorated with a leaping orange flame that had several holes growing at the seams and a pair of nearly indestructible black shorts. It was going to be a good day, and the outfit was a necessary component of being able to celebrate properly.

As he transitioned back to the main room of his small apartment, the blond grabbed his backpack and began loading it with the things he would need for the day. School supplies and the completed homework assignments were unceremoniously stuffed in the bottom of the bag. Over those, the packages of cup ramen that would be Naruto's lunch were placed with slightly more attention. Then, last of all, the scroll with the Uzumaki boy's seal practice was rolled up and placed carefully at the top of the pile. Zipping his bag shut and rushing out the door, Naruto barely remembered to stop and lock his apartment before he was once again off, racing through the early morning streets of Konoha on his way to stop in at the Hokage's office before class started.

Plowing through the tower, Naruto left a mess of scattered paperwork and shouting administrators behind him before he came to rest at the desk of the Sandaime's secretary. "Ohayō Hiseko-san. * _pant_ * Can I * _pant_ * go in and see Jiji?"

As Hiseko looked over the calendar to confirm that the Hokage had some space in his schedule, Naruto took a second to finish catching his breath. When she looked up to find azure eyes fixed on her in eager anticipation, the woman nodded primly. "He has a meeting with Hyūga-sama in twenty minutes, but I think he can squeeze you in before then."

With a wordless shout of joy, the blond plowed through the heavy door to the Sandaime's office. Throwing his bag down, Naruto pulled out his practice scroll. "Jiji, I got it, 'ttebayo! I'm gonna make my first seal today!"

"You don't say?" The Sandaime chuckled to himself as Naruto waved the rolled parchment in the air. "I had a feeling I'd see you this morning." Sarutobi gestured to the end of his desk where a space was cleared, and an ink tray and brush sat waiting. "Show me what you can do, Gekage-kun."

Nodding in agreement, the blond unrolled his scroll and grabbed the brush. Setting aside the report he'd been perusing, the Hokage rose from his desk and walked over behind the whiskered six-year-old to inspect his work. Naruto's brush work still demonstrated more haste and less precision than the old man would have liked, but the boy didn't make any errors that would render the seal dangerous or unusable. Ten minutes later, Sarutobi watched as Naruto traced the last glyph and set his brush down on the nearly empty tray. Letting out a deep sigh as he massaged his hand, Naruto's blue eyes ran over the completed seal one last time before they turned up to the old man, expectation written plainly on his whiskered face. "How did I do, Jiji?"

The Hokage grinned genially, pride clearly visible on his wrinkled face. Leaning closer, Hiruzen ran a careful eye over Naruto's work. "I'm no master, but this looks very well constructed, Naruto." The blond's chest puffed out in pride, and the Sandaime continued. "There's really only one way to know for sure, though. You'll have to seal something inside the scroll and then unseal it to demonstrate that you've succeeded."

"What should I use, then?" Naruto cast about the room looking for something to seal before his face lit up in a huge grin. Scooting himself off his seat, the whiskered Uzumaki made his way to his backpack.

Sarutobi raised a curious eyebrow but understood when he saw Naruto draw out the picture he had received from Kakashi. _So, the boy is trying to take care of his family with the tools of his clan?_ Despite the approving whole-heartedly of the symbolism, Hiruzen was hesitant about Naruto's choice to use such a special thing in his test. "Naruto, you know that you won't be able to get the picture back if your seal doesn't work, right? Why don't we use a pencil or a piece of paper that you won't miss if it doesn't come back?"

The young Uzumaki shook his head as he walked back to the desk. "I know, Jiji. I just feel like I want to try this." Looking up at the old man, Naruto tried to explain. "I'm not very good in school, even though I work super hard, dattebayo. But this…" The blond gestured to the scroll laying open on the desk. "This is something that I'm supposed to be really good at. My clan was good at making seals, and I want to be good at it, too. I know I did everything just like you showed me, so I'm gonna try it with Kaka-nii's picture. I'll get it back. I just know I will, 'ttebayo"

The blond finished with a small grin and made his way back over to the waiting parchment. Sarutobi noticed that, despite his brave words, Naruto's hands shook as he laid the picture down on the barely dried ink. Reaching gnarled hands over to the blond's shoulder, the old man massaged his back and leaned down to whisper comfortingly in the small boy's ear. "I know you can do it, Gekage-kun."

Swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, Naruto placed his hands on either side of the completed seal and began to pull his chakra from the pit of his stomach where it resided. Loudly declaring "Fūin!", the blond closed his eyes and _pushed_ the chakra out through his palms. Instantly, he felt the seal catch ahold of the energy he supplied, and, with a small puff of smoke, the picture disappeared. In its place, the containment circle was filled with the carefully inked kanji for "full". After a second, the last Uzumaki pushed a bit more of his chakra into the scroll and there was another puff of smoke. When it cleared, the picture of Naruto in the Hokage's hat sat atop the crisp parchment, just as crumpled as it was before sealing, but otherwise none the worse for wear.

"Ah!" A wordless cry of joy came tearing out of the blond at the sight of his seal performing precisely as it was supposed to. "Ah ha ha ha ha!" Stumbling off the chair, Naruto began to dance around the room in a giddy circle. "Jiji! It worked, Jiji! I did it, dattebayo! I'm really an Uzumaki."

The last comment was made much more quietly than the others, but Sarutobi heard it anyway. "Did you think that I lied to you, Naruto?" The old man quirked an eyebrow at the suddenly penetant blond.

"Well, no," Naruto admitted as a blush dusted across his face. "I was just scared. Maybe you made a mistake and I wasn't an Uzumaki after all."

"Well, Naruto," the Hokage kneeled down until he and his ward were at eye level, "I may not know everything, but I am very confident that you are a member of the Uzumaki clan." The whiskered boy smiled and clutched his Jiji in a tight hug. As tired fingers stroked soft, blond hair, Hiruzen whispered a small promise. "Naruto, I never want to lie to you. There are things about you that I don't know and things that I can't tell you, but I remember very well the morning that I met you. There has never been any doubt in my mind that you belong to that prestigious clan, and today it is my privilege to make it official. Congratulations, _Uzumaki_ Naruto. I'm very proud of you."

The duo hugged again before a knock at the heavy oak door caused them to break apart. The Hokage's secretary leaned in and addressed the old man. "Hokage-sama, Hyūga Hiashi-sama has arrived."

Nodding to show he understood, Sarutobi rose and turned back to his desk. With a flash of chakra, the picture was again sealed into the scroll, which was quickly rolled and handed to the grinning blond. As Naruto placed his hard work in his bag and shrugged it onto his shoulders, the Hokage spoke: "Naruto…" Something in the old man's voice grabbed the blond's attention, and inquisitive blue eyes turned up to see the Sandaime looking quite tired again.

Hiruzen said nothing for several seconds, so Naruto decided to prompt the old man. "Yeah, Jij?"

Shaking his head, the Hokage replaced his hat from where he had laid it on the desk and smiled at the boy. "Why don't you come by after you finish school today, and we can go visit Ichiraku for a snack? I have another story I'd like to tell you about some very special people called jinchuriki."

"Yatta!" Naruto scurried out the door, a huge grin plastered on his face.

As Sarutobi settled down at his desk, he mused on his decision. Naruto had earned the right to call himself an Uzumaki, but was he ready to learn more about who and what he was? Well, regardless of the old man's hesitation, it was too late to change his mind. Deciding to trust the blond's remarkable tenacity, the Sandaime rose from his desk to greet the Hyūga clan head as the stately man strode into his office. "Ah, Hyūga-dono, come in. Thank you for coming to speak with me. I hope your elders were receptive to my thoughts about the Hyūga's role in an expanded Barrier Division…"

* * *

"Man, Naruto, what's got you in such a good mood this morning?"

The blond bounced to his seat deposited his backpack at his desk, grinning the entire way. Then, he turned around on the bench to answer Kiba's question. Today's seating arrangement recalled their first day of class, with Shikamaru, Chōji, and Kiba lounging in the top row of desks, while Naruto was relegated to the middle tier after his meeting with Jiji made him arrive just before the start of class. Grinning widely, the blond fished in his backpack for his finished scroll. Rolling it out, the boy proudly displayed the fruits of his labor to his friends. "Check it out! I finished my first seal, 'ttebayo. I'm an official Uzumaki now!" The three made appreciative noises and pretended to listen as Naruto launched into a long-winded explanation of the different parts of his creation. After several months in the classroom together, they had come to understand how important this was to the blond, even if they didn't quite understand why.

Fortunately for Naruto's captive audience, it was less than a minute before Daikoku-sensei made his way into the room and called the class to attention. Reluctantly, the newly recognized Uzumaki turned back to the front and secured the completed scroll in the top of his bag. "Alright class," their teacher greeted them happily, "I hope you had a good weekend. Today we're going to be learning about team formations. First, though, I'd like you all to pass in your homework from this weekend." There was a rustling of papers as the students drew out their work and handed them to their right until all the assignments were collected into a stack at the front. The hefty sensei accepted the papers and brought them to his desk before turning to the chalkboard and starting to draw. "Now, team formations depend on the number of people working together on a mission and the mission objectives. For today, we'll start by learning about the four-man squads you will be working in when you graduate…" As their teacher began to drone on, Naruto felt his eyelids grow heavy from his late night. Before the clock struck nine, the blond had fallen asleep at his seat, a small puddle of drool forming on the cover of his notebook.

 _Boom!_

An explosion rocked the air, shattering the midmorning quiet of the schoolroom and jerking Naruto out of his sleep. The first blast was followed by several more in rapid succession, each of which shook the windows and increased the frantic chatter within the classroom. Picking himself up from where he had fallen to the floor, Naruto's wide, blue eyes cast around for the cause of the disruption. Suddenly, a shrill scream drew everyone's attention to Ino. The platinum blonde pointed out the window, hand shaking in horror. As the class rushed to look, Naruto leapt on a desk to see over his peers' heads. What he saw made the six-year-old's blood run cold. The view outside, which earlier this morning had afforded an unimpeded view of Konoha's ecclectic roofline, was now broken up by over a dozen columns of black smoke that had just begun to rise from flickering orange flames. The class' hushed whispers turned into wailing when Kasumi began to cry in fear.

Daikoku-sensei's voice cut through the din, silencing the group. "Mina-san, you need to stay calm. Remember, if there is an emergency, we need to be calm and quiet. Now, please leave your belongings behind and line up at the door." The class rushed to obey, clinging to the proverbial lifeline of their sensei's directions. Naruto ran toward his seat to grab his bag with the completed scroll, but he was stopped by the burly man's barking order. "Uzumaki! Leave it! We need to go." Slipping his scroll out of the bag and into his pocket, Naruto rushed to the front of the classroom and joined the queue of terrified students waiting at the door. Their teacher looked over the attendance roster clamped in his meaty hand before confirming that everyone was accounted for. "Alright, Hibachi's gone, so we have 26 today. Everyone, please hold the hand of the person next to you." Naruto's small fingers reached out and closed on the closest hand to him. Blue eyes blinked at the intensity of the grip, and Naruto looked around to find that Hinata had made her way to him in the crowd. Smiling in what he hoped was a comforting way, the whiskered six-year-old gave her hand a small squeeze as Daikoku-sensei continued to give instructions. "Okay. You two are now travel partners, and your job is to help each other keep up with the group. Stay with your partner at all times. We are going to leave the building quickly and quietly, and we will make our way to the emergency shelters located in the Hokage monument. Let's go."

Directions given, the stocky teacher turned and opened the doorway to reveal that the hallway was full, as dozens of students were sheperded out of their classrooms under the watchful eyes of their respective instructors. When the other classes had passed by, Daikoku-sensei led his class out of the classroom, turning periodically to make sure that the group stayed together.

"Naruto-kun, I'm scared," the dark-haired girl whispered as the group descended to the building's third floor. "W-what's going on?"

"I don't know," the blond replied absently, equally troubled. When his pale-eyed companion seemed to wilt under the admission, the whiskered boy pulled himself out of his own introspection to shoot Hinata the biggest smile he could muster. "Don't worry, though. If there's anybody trying to do bad things in Konoha, Jiji will stop them." At the girl's confused look, Naruto elaborated. "Jiji's the Hokage. He's a super awesome ninja, and his job is to protect everyone in the village, 'cause they're part of his family, dattebayo."

"He's not the only one." Both Naruto and Hinata jumped as Sasuke inserted himself into their conversation, clutching unhappily to Ami's hand. "My clan runs the police force. They'll help keep everyone safe and find the bad guys."

"My clan has no formal part of the village's defensive organizations," Shino replied, dropping back from his position at the front of the group to join the discussion. "Nevertheless, we will assist in the defense of Konoha against any assailant."

Hinata nodded, comforted by the boys' declaration. "The H-hyūga will protect the Leaf, as well."

The other children within hearing range chimed in with the assurance that their respective families and clans would contribute to the village's defense, and Naruto nodded his agreement with the group's conviction. "It's just like Hokage-jiji said when we started school, 'ttebayo. Everybody has the Will of Fire and wants to protect the village, because our family and friends live here. Right now, they're protecting us, but one day it'll be our turn, and we'll be the ones protecting them."

Seconds later the class spilled from the front doors of the building. Blinking against the smoke in the air and the bright midmorning sun, the class collected around Daikoku-sensei. The sight that met them was one that affirmed their convictions about their home and the strength of its people. Several roofs in the vicinity had caught fire from the drifting embers, and civilians had formed a fire brigade to pull water from the nearby pond. Further in the distance, dozens of ninja were visible, hopping across rooftops and drawing forth earth and water constructs to help put out the fires. After a second, their teacher determined that no one was missing and led the class through Konoha's winding streets toward the base of the Hokage monument.

Despite how close the academy was to the base of the mountain, the group had to turn around twice to avoid a building that caught fire or a street that was blocked with debris. Finally, the class arrived at the last intersection where they could see several Genin gesturing civilians up the stairs and into the shelter. Their sensei seemed ready to send the group across to the refuge when the air within the intersection rippled, and a wall materialized out of thin air, closing the class off from the monument. Daikoku-sensei spun around, palming a kunai knife, but his defense was too late. Over a dozen blades flew from a nearby alleyway and embedded themselves in the burly Chūnin's limbs and torso. With a surprised gurgle, the man fell to his knees before collapsing facedown on the cobblestones.

"Aw, poor baby. Guess he couldn't handle a little poison." The class whirled at the sound of the voice to see a woman lounging in the mouth of the alley. Her mocking voice complemented the disgruntled pursing of her lips and the angry slant of brown eyes that might have been quite pretty, had they belonged to someone who smiled. After a quick inspection, Naruto decided that her outfit must be a type of ninja wear, but not one they had covered in their classes so far. Her gray tunic was split on either side at the hips and worn over simple black leggings. The woman's hand dipped out of sight in the doorway and returned bearing a short sword that glistened menacingly in the morning sun.

"Mi, your part is done," a deep voice boomed from the other side of the street. The man who had spoken stalked from the doorway of a convenience store and stopped in the center of the street to survey the children. Coarse black hair framed a long, square jaw, and his black bettle eyes glittered with malice. He was flanked by two smaller figures: nondescript brown-haired figures, who might have been twins for how similar their faces were, in their late teens. Both brows were furled in concentration, and their hands were pressed together into a seal, cleary channeling chakra to some effect. All three were dressed in the same grey tunic as the scary woman across the street.

"Oh, come on, Reiji-san," the woman's voice had a definite whine this time as she spun her blade in the air and caught it again with barely a glance. "That barely took any effort at all. Just let me have one more, and then I'll be good."

"You'll get more after we deliver the packages," the big man replied, stepping forward. "Now help me find the brats we're supposed to take."

The entire class drew back as the adults approached, retreating as far as they could before their backs met the wall that had suddenly appeared. As the group huddled together, Naruto's eyes were drawn to his sensei, lying still on the pavement with blood seeping from his wounds. _These people_ , the blond realized, _were here for his friends. They wanted to hurt the people he cared about, the people he had promised to protect one day!_ At that thought, a hot rage rushed through the young Uzumaki and, after looking around at his scared classmates, he released Hinata's hand. Pushing his way to the front of the class, the blond addressed the approaching adults, whose expressions had shifted from serious to bemused as they noticed his progress. Blue eyes glared balefully at the towering figures, and Naruto had to fight to keep his voice steady, but he spoke anyway. "W-whoever you are, you'd b-better leave us alone, 'ttebayo. We're –"

The rest of the blond's admonishment was cut off as the woman disappeared from where she was standing, only to reappear within the same moment, kneeling right in front of the blond. As he stumbled back to gain some space, blue eyes were drawn to the sword that she was holding out and the crimson liquid that now coated the blade. Looking down, Naruto's eyes widened in fright at the growing red stain across his once white shirt. Collapsing back into the arms of his shocked classmates, the blond vaguely realized that the big man was arguing with the woman who had stabbed him.

"…disobeying orders…hadn't identified targets…"

"…ratty clothes…no way he's a clan kid…"

"…not the point…"

"…take a while to bleed out …delay pursuit…"

"…unknown factors…hostile territory…"

The man called Reiji looked up from dressing down his subordinate to see a black-haired boy near the front of the group make a break for the dango shop that had been abandoned during the morning's chaos. Sighing, the big man ran through several handseals and reached out with his chakra to touch the minds of all the students. As one, they dropped to the flagstones, unconscious. "Alright, quiet," he commanded the sword-weilding woman, who glared, but fell silent. Turning to address the men holding the hand-sign behind him, the tall man continued. "Eiji, drop your genjutsu. There's no more need for it." One of the twins dropped his hands and nodded. Behind the class, the wall that had appeared faded to nothingness. "Mi, Eiji, and I will find our targets. Isamu keep up the genjutsu to make sure no one else notices what's going on here. We'll drop it when we leave."

At the silent nods, Reiji reached into his pockets and fished out a sheet of paper while the other two dispersed themselves into the mass of sleeping children. "Okay, first on Orochimaru-sama's shopping list is the noble clans, then the other clan kids in the class. The Aburame heir will be wearing glasses and a thick coat. If you find any bugs around one of these brats, that's probably him. The Akimichi's probably that fatty over there." The man shrugged a shoulder at Chōji's prone form before turning back to the page. "Damn, couldn't they tell us more about the Uchiha than that he's got black hair and pale skin? Eiji, I think that might be him there. He's got the crest on his back, right? Good. Now we need the Hyūga heiress. Look for dark hair and white eyes. The Inuzuka's the one with the dog, and the Nara's our other black-haired brat. Blondie and pinky must be our Yamanaka and the defective Uzumaki." Finishing his list, the huge man made his way to the back of the pile, where he hefted Ino and Sakura under his arms and carried them clear of the other students.

Barely conscious, Naruto watched as his friends were picked up and hauled out of the mess of bodies. The pain from his chest was enough to keep the blond from falling prey to the genjutsu, but blood loss was working to lead him to the same destination. He had fallen into Hinata's arms, so when the woman with the sword recognized the Hyūga heiress and removed her from behind him, the blond fell backwards to the pavement. He coughed weakly, a trickle of blood running down his face. Dazed blue eyes barely made out the grinning face of the woman who had stabbed him, but he heard her words. "You're still alive, hm brat? Well, don't worry. You're not long for this world. And we'll take real good care of your friends, too. Some of them might even survive what Orochimaru-sama has planned for them."

With that, the brunette stalked back to her compatriots. Each of the adults hefted two children, and then, in a puff of smoke, they were gone. Naruto closed his eyes against another onslaught of pain as the woman's words rolled through his mind. _Some of them might survive._ Crystal blue eyes snapped open at the realization. _His friends were going to be hurt!_ As he processed that thought, the blond saw red.

* * *

"Alright Gaichūmaru, here's the brats. What's next?"

Reiji's deep voice rumbled through the trees, startling the smaller man from his inspection of the seals etched into the packed earth. Looking up, the ratty face broke into a grin at the sight of his subordinates and the eight children they held in their arms. "That's Gaichūmaru-taichō to you, Reiji. Well, come on. Bring 'em here." The brown-haired man stood from where he had been sitting and raised a dirty hand to wave the quartet over imperiously. "I need to make sure none of you idiots screwed up picking your targets. Then we can move to the last phase." Smirking widely at the angry faces arrayed opposite him, Gaichūmaru gestured to the rotting porch he had previously been sitting on. "Lay them down here."

The kidnappers scowled at the tone, but Orochimaru-sama had specifically appointed this groveling wretch as the leader for this mission, so they reluctantly obeyed and brought their charges over to him. Each set the children they had carried on the rotted porch before stepping back and stretching. Looking around, Reiji took in the dilapidated state of the small compound they had chosen. The main shrine must have lacked a caretaker for several years, as the traditional bright red paint was drastically faded and beginning to chip in places. Additionally, the moss growing all over spoke to the fact that no one had bothered to fight against the humidity of summers in the Land of Fire. Turning to the weasel of a man, Reiji asked a question that had been rolling around in his head since he was told the. "How'd you find this place? Seems doubtful that there'd be an unoccupied compound waiting for us to use inside Konoha."

"You can thank our defective Uzumaki for this place," Gaichūmaru answered without looking up from his inspection of the pinkette. "There were some clansmen and retainers that lived in the village several years ago, but they all got killed when the Kyūbi attacked. Now, there's no adults from the clan and the kid apparently hasn't realized that she owns property that needs to be maintained. Though, the Hokage may not let someone with such weak blood ties claim any kind of inheritance." Beady brown eyes glistened as the man turned the small girl's jaw sideways, judging her value with a glance. "Hair's supposed to be bright red, but with a color like that, I can understand why they say something's wrong with her. Ah well, if she's too damaged to withstand what Orochimaru-sama has prepared, no great loss there."

Suddenly, the air grew heavy with the force of such rage that it stole the small man's breath away and caused everyone present to break out in a cold sweat. Looking back toward the village and the source of the feeling, the band of kidnappers watched as a stream of crimson chakra rose from the base of the Hokage Monument, gradually morphing to form the face of a grinning fox. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the eerie visage vanished. A chill of premonition ran down Gaichūmaru's back and the small man began to scream at his bewildered subordinates. "Run, you idiots! Get the brats to their spots in the circle. Those damn treehuggers had something laying in wait for us and we need to deliver the packages to Orochimaru-sama before it gets here!"

Shaken from their temporary stupor by their captain's shrill cries, the other ninja quickly returned to the temple porch and carried the unconscious children to the center of the seal that Gaichūmaru had painstakingly carved into the hard-packed earth. The small man pointed to five circles at the perimeter of the array and frantically shouted orders. "Reiji take the lightning node. Mi, you go to the wind one. Isamu, Eiji: fire and water. I've got the earth" The kidnappers took their positions and began moulding elemental chakra to power the seal. One by one, the perimeter seals began to glow with a pale, golden light. When all five were lit, the assembled group began to run through handseals, desparate to avoid finding out what Konoha had unleashed that could generate the hateful aura they felt getting closer moment by moment.

* * *

"Get out of the way!"

A crimson streak raced through the village streets, given a wide berth by shinobi and civilians alike. Naruto ignored the screams and shouts of those who desperately threw themselves out of his path. He didn't notice the red chakra that had settled around him like a shroud, nor did he realize that he was running on all four limbs. All observation and conscious thought was superceded by the overwhelming certainty that the blond needed to move as quickly as possible. Reaching out with his senses, Naruto locked on to the mental impression of his sleeping classmates. Chakra sensing was a skill that Kaka-nii had practiced with him, though he normally had trouble performing at any meaningful range. Now, though, the young Uzumaki could clearly feel his friends' chakra from across the village, a beacon to his senses, leading him to a forested region within the protective walls. The whiskered blond didn't know why, but something in the back of his head whispered darkly that, if he didn't get to his friends soon, he would lose them forever. Thus, as he passed the last ring of houses, Naruto summoned up another burst of speed, rocketing into the trees.

Very quickly, the blond soared through the tree line and came to a stop in an unexpected clearing. Blinking against the sudden glare, blazing crimson eyes took in the sight of his classmates' unconscious forms in the center of a glowing seal formula. When he recognized the gray-robed ninja on the outside as those who had taken his friends, the whiskered boy jumped on top of the pile of children and snarled menacingly at the shocked adults. "Leave my friends alone!"

All five ninja sat in stunned silence for a moment before the brunette woman began to laugh hysterically. "Oh, this is just rich! Guess you were right, Reiji. I _shouldn't_ have stabbed him earlier. I should have cut off his fucking head. Now we've got to fight some monster that those treehuggers kept in reserve."

Naruto glared at the laughing woman before spinning to growl at the big man on the opposite side of the circle when he rumbled out a reply. "Mi, if he could have consciously stopped you, he would have. More likely, you activated some bloodline defense when you stabbed him."

"Keep going, you morons!" Gaichūmaru's scratchy voice cut across the brunette's likely scathing reply. "We need to go! Now! By now, Yami- _sama_ will to have figured out we didn't just carry the brats out the hole in the barriers like we told him we were going to. We've got less than half a minute before this clearing is swarming with Konoha-nin. Orochimaru-sama can handle the monster." With a scowl, the abductors returned to their hurried signing.

As the adults resumed their casting, Naruto leapt at the small man who seemed to be in charge. From his experience practicing his own seal, the blond knew that seals were very tempermental. If he could disrupt the man's chakra flow, the would-be abductors would have to start over or risk the seal exploding. _Then, Jiji's ninja could come and stop the bad guys._ The whiskered boy stopped short, however, at the triumphant grin on the man's ratty face. "Too late, brat!" All five adults slammed their palms on the ground.

The seal surged to life, burning a brilliant gold that was visible even in the midday sun. The flash faded, revealing an empty courtyard with the remains of the seal burned into the hard-packed earth, some sigils still lit with residual chakra. The calm lasted for several seconds before the remaining energy was released in a tremendous explosion, obliterating all traces of the seal, along with nearly an acre of the compound and surrounding forest.

When the Hokage arrived on the scene several minutes later, his heart clenched to see the flaming remains of the compound he had planned to show his favorite blond after the school day finished. Waving his hand, Sarutobi addressed the kneeling ANBU that appeared at his side. "I want reports from the Konoha Military Police Force, the Barrier Division, and T&I about what happened today and who was behind it. Someone attacked us, and we need to know who and how they got past our defenses." The masked agent disappeared, and another wave of the wrinkled hand brought a second cloaked figure to attend the Sandaime. "Get me every credible witness who saw Uzumaki Naruto today, both before and after the Kyūbi's seal cracked. Focus on high ranking Hyūga and Academy staff. Something caused our boy to lose control, and it must be related to what happened here."

Hiruzen turned to watch the hunter nin perform their examination of the former Uzumaki compound, only to perk up as an ANBU agent appeared at his side in a swirl of leaves. "Hokage-sama," the man inclined his head and offered a sheet of paper to his leader. "Funeno Daikoku was found unconscious near the entrance to the shelters. He had multiple lacerations from over a dozen kunai, nearly all of which were poisoned. His class was forced to sleep and most have been recovered, but nine students are missing."

Sarutobi's hands did not tremble as dark eyes read the list, but the old man's heart broke with each name. Nine names did not take long to read, but each second was an eternity longer than it had any right to be. Finally, the Hokage folded the paper and addressed the tense messenger who had brought the news. "Assemble the clan council immediately." As the masked figure flickered from sight, a single tear rolled down the old man's haggard face. _Naruto, I've failed you again. I'm sorry. Wherever you are, be safe._

* * *

A/N: I am still moving slowly through the last stages of school, so chapters will still be delayed, but I have these two finished, so I wanted to share them.


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